Betrayal
by kingsmexy
Summary: The Du Couteau family is forced out of their estate in Noxus when Swain forcefully takes over. Swain plans to take over all of Valoran. Will Katarina get the revenge she wants? or is there more going on? (Future Kat x Lux don't like the pairing? don't read) Rated T for violence and swearing. Multiple pairings some gxg some gxb (Sorry no bxb). There is CHARACTER DEATH you are warned
1. Chapter 1

**With the help of a good friend of mine (MeMyselfanDie) I reworked the chapter please take another look and tell me what you think! Mostly grammatical changes.**

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The sound of heavy panting could be heard as Katarina, Cassiopeia, and Talon, ran as fast as they could, the sounds of barking dogs close on their tails. Katarina stumbled over a thick tree root sticking out of the ground. Everyone's feet were heavy with mud from the Kaladoun marshes, preventing them from keeping a quick pace. It was obvious that they were slowing down, while their pursuers were better equipped for this uninhabitable marshland. With just a look and a few nods the three split apart, hoping to throw the dogs off their trail, allowing them to escape. Fate would not allow such an easy escape though, and the pursuers split into three groups as well, continuing their chase. Katarina knew that if a fight were to break out she would most likely lose; her skills relied on quick movements that the mud refused to allow, crippling her fighting abilities.

"Fuck," Katarina said to herself, as she began to make out her pursuers in the fog. Chasing after her was none other than the Glorious Executioner Draven. The man was an idiot with an overinflated ego that could fill all of Valoran, but it doesn't take brains to use an axe with some precision. His ego got people's attention, but it was his precision that got their admiration. "Fuck," Katarina repeated to herself, knowing this would be difficult with the small group of dogs and Draven chasing after her. Looking up, she saw a small patch of dead trees a little to her left and she beelined for it. As she approached the tree line, the barking became louder and louder, and Katarina began to panic.

o-O-^-O-o

It all began back in the Du Couteau mansion, a noble home in Noxus, where Katarina, Cassiopeia, and Talon were residing. Things had become tricky since the General, Katarina's father, disappeared, and there were signs of rebellion, but that had yet to escalate to more than just talk, or so they thought. Cassiopeia was lounging by the fireplace when sounds struggle began to filter in from outside, and to her shock, saw the guards being killed by none other than Swain's elite guard. It was at that moment when Talon ran into the room half dragging a slightly dazed Katarina, who had been taking a nap, into the room.

"We need to leave," Cassiopeia stated, pointing out the obvious. Quickly, Talon led them to the secret exit which he used to enter and exit the mansion without being seen. It was cramped, smelly, and overall unhygienic, but survival necessitates such unpleasantries. Of course, it wasn't long afterwards that Swain found the escape route, and forced his men to pursue the fleeing group. In the beginning, the group contained servants, guards, and themselves, but as they were pursued, the group began to break apart, until only a few guards and themselves remained, the others dead or hiding. Initially, they made their way to the Institute of War, only to find the path blocked by an entire division of the Noxian army. Their last hope was a long shot: Demacia. In between Demacia and them were the Marshes of Kaladoun, rumored to be littered with dark creatures. They had no choice, since it was a higher chance of survival than turning themselves in to Swain. They were never far ahead of the Noxian pursuers, whose numbers had dwindled as they got closer to Demacia, to prevent provoking them. Upon entering the swamp the pursuers had gained ground, leading to a struggle from the fleeing party to put distance between them.

A sudden thunk drew Katarina from her thoughts, as an axe stuck itself into the tree she had just gone by. "Come out and play!" Draven called, taunting Katarina, who knew that he was way too close for comfort. The dogs were nipping at her heels, forcing her to part with one of her blades as she skillfully threw it, catching three of them in the arc. Her throw forced her to slow down, causing an axe to just graze the edge of her arm, tearing it open and drawing a small stream of blood. Katarina cursed to herself as she felt the warmth begin to run down her left arm, knowing she had but no choice but to continue running. Using her good arm, she grabbed a relatively thick looking branch and swung herself up, causing the last two remaining dogs to skid past on the mud, leaving them vulnerable to Katarina's next attack. She threw yet another dagger, dispatching both of the dogs, leaving Draven as her only pursuer. An axe smashed through the branch, forcing Katarina to tumble through the mud, making her body heavier as she began to run again.

She hadn't made it much further into the trees when a second axe sliced into her back. As Katarina let out a scream, Draven couldn't help but smile cruelly. The wound was deep; while she continued to run she felt it tear with every step she took. The pain, initially masked by adrenaline, was starting to come back, as she had long lost her boots in the deep mud of the marshes, and the rocks were cutting deeply into her feet. Draven pulled out his second axe and attached it to the first, before sending them flying in front of him. Katarina only narrowly avoided the brunt of the attack, but felt the axe clip her side. She tumbled onto the ground, slamming her head into a large rock, opening a large wound on the side of her head. She gritted her teeth and leapt over the rock in time to avoid another axe, which shattered upon hitting the rock. Taking a moment to regain her breath before starting out again, two large blades smashed through the rock, tearing up the ground as they travelled. Katarina made a mad sprint before diving, just narrowly avoiding the blades as they returned to Draven. Her actions were becoming clumsy; she was constantly feeling her footing slip, forcing her to slow down in order to not fall. Falling would end it all; one single mistake would cost her her life. This wasn't the league, where your summoner created a controlled illusion of you, which could be re-cast if you died. This was reality. This was life or death.

Suddenly, Katarina tumbled forward, sliding on her back and releasing two of her daggers at Draven. Caught by surprise, one of the daggers collided with his shoulder, but, to Katarina's dismay, he smiled and pulled the dagger out of his shoulder, licking his blood off before tossing it aside and continuing his pursuit. As shocked as she was, Katarina scrambled to her feet and ran. During the sprint, Draven pulled a flask off of his side and chugged its contents; Katarina watched as in just a matter of seconds the wound not only closed, but looked as if it had never been there. A shiver ran through her spine as she realized who was behind the potion, it was none other than the Mad Chemist Singed. It became clear as to what had happened; it was Zaun backing Swain. Zaun was a powerhouse that did not care about collateral damage, as long as the damage was done to their enemies as well. Catapults that launched sludge that never stopped burning, explosives that sap the very life of everything nearby, and even mining equipment that tears away at the ground, depriving it of all nutrients, killing everything nearby. Zaun's technology was powerful, but if used, would leave nothing but destruction on both sides.

As she continued running, her anger growing, she didn't notice when she left the trees, being too absorbed in her thoughts. Her need to survive was no longer one of selfish desires but to warn everyone of the impending danger that Swain would bring. As she began to think about how to inform everyone, an axe sliced into her right leg, toppling her into a bloody, muddy mess. Katarina lie face up, looking at the cloudy sky. 'Could be a better day to die...' Katarina thought to herself as she heard Draven walk closer. He was laughing and bragging about how he was the best around. To Katarina it didn't matter, this was the end, after all, and she gazed up into the sky. A lone eagle gracefully flew overhead, before disappearing faster than it had come, making a whole lot of noise. 'Odd...' Katarina thought to herself, 'I thought eagles were generally quiet...' Her thinking was interrupted by the figure of Draven looming above her.

"Are you not entertained?" Draven asked sarcastically, before being spattered by Katarina's bloody spit. "Still have some fight left in you? Well, don't worry. Draven will fix that right up!" he said, hoisting his axe up into the air to finish Katarina off. Closing her eyes she waited for the darkness that would surely come, but nothing happened. Suddenly, the sounds of a struggle came from around her, and she opened her eyes to see the very eagle she saw earlier latched onto Draven. Using its talons, it dug into his face, clawing out his right eye, effectively blinding the man. Soon after came shouts from what sounded to be its trainer. Draven swung his axe towards the large bird, but a woman appeared from nowhere and kicked off of his face, launching him backwards into the marshes. In her hand was a miniature crossbow, and covering her other hand was a large leather glove, upon which perched the eagle. Draven only smiled as he returned to his standing position, his left hand clasping his right eye and an axe in his other hand. Draven darted forward, axe twirling in his hand.

"Valor!" the austringer cried out as the bird took flight and clawed at Draven's face again. Draven struck out with his left hand, only knocking the bird away for a second. The ranger raised her crossbow and began to fire, every shot forcing Draven into the eagle or into the bolt. It was obvious that Draven was outmatched, but he refused to back down. He threw his axe at the bird, leaving himself unguarded, and a bolt pierced his hand. He did not even flinch from the pain, obviously a side effect from Singed's potion, and continued to attack relentlessly. Axe after axe was flung, but not a single one connected with either her or the bird. Draven was growing angry, and he was showing it, shouting curses at the duo. Katarina tried to watch the fight, but her consciousness was slowly fading, and soon her eyes became too heavy to keep open. The last noise she heard before losing all consciousness was the sound of a bolt being fired, and a loud splash, as something heavy fell into the swamps. While Katarina was unconscious, Quinn made her way over to the fallen woman, recognizing her immediately. "The Sinister Blade?" Quinn asked aloud, before sending Valor off to bring back help.

o-O-^-O-o

"You requested assistance?" Came the voice of one of her fellow guards.

"I'm going to need your help." Quinn said, pointing over at the two on the ground. In shock, the guard asked if Quinn had taken both out. "No, only Draven. Believe it or not Draven was going to kill her before Valor took out his eye." She said, nodding to the bird, who had yet to clean his bloodied talons.

"Wait, she's still alive?" The guard said, looking at the pool of blood under Katarina.

"I bandaged her wounds, and she has a pulse, but at this rate she won't for much longer. I have questions, and I hope she has answers," Quinn replied, hoisting the red head by the shoulders, while the others helped with her legs and Draven's body. Quinn wouldn't be the only one with questions.

o-O-^-O-o

"What do you mean you 'found' her?'" Garen asked, pointing at Katarina. Quinn quickly gave her report to Garen Crownguard, the Might of Demacia, explaining what she had witnessed and the events that unfurled when she intervened. None of the Demacian spies had said anything about Noxus turning on Katarina, but then again they hadn't heard from any of their spies in weeks. "We'll treat her wounds, but she is to remain under close supervision at all times. I myself find these events... curious," With that, Garen took his leave to inform the royal court of what had occurred. 'How peculiar.' Garen thought to himself as he made his way to the palace.

Katarina was chained to the bed and was currently under the care of Soraka, the Starchild. Soraka had been in Demacia to help curb a nasty disease outbreak in one of the lower districts, and was about to leave when she was asked to heal the Noxian countess, Katarina. Though shocked at the request, she agreed to help. After taking a look at Katarina's wounds, it became quite clear that they were very serious, and that it was amazing that she had made it as far as she had without proper medical treatment. Her wounds were surely infected, due to the vast amounts of mud caked into them, and it would be a miracle if she avoided disease. Her main priority were the cuts to her back and side. While the lacerations on her head and the cuts on her arm, legs, and feet looked nasty, they were not as lethal as the other two and thus were a lower priority. It was not easy, but after three days of intense work she managed to close the wounds on her back and side. She even made sure to remove as much of the infection as she could, all though Katarina would be weaker, as she may still get sick from any of the bacteria that escaped Soraka's blessing. As for the other wounds some salve and bandages were applied, closing them after the fourth day. It wasn't until the sixth day that there was any sign that the woman would awake, when her eyes slowly fluttered open.

Moving her arm to rub her face, she was stopped short by the chains, incenting her to look around and remember what had happened. 'Right... I was being chased by Draven... then that woman...' Suddenly the image of the woman in blue and gold armor leapt into her mind. 'That was a Demacian guard...' Katarina realized as she took a better look at her surroundings. She was in a white tent, large enough only to fit about four other people in it, and was littered by many medical tools and equipment. 'A hospital tent...' Katarina began to slowly take in information - light coming in, the number of guards outside, and other details that may prove useful if she needed to protect herself - when the entrance of the tent opened up to reveal Soraka.

"Ah, you have awoken," the Starchild said. "Please, do lie down. While your wounds are healed, it is best to get your rest." Katarina knew that if the Starchild was treating her she was not in the custody of Noxus or Zaun but one of the more peaceful nations. Slowly she laid her head back down onto the pillow.

"Where am I?" Katarina asked, searching for clues.

"Just outside the Demacian barracks," Soraka answered, preparing a towel of warm water to rest on Katarina's head. As much as Katarina disliked the woman touching her, she had no choice, as she was chained up. 'Probably better that way', she thought. "You have been unconscious for six days," Soraka continued "You are lucky to be alive, Sinister Blade."

The sneer in Soraka's voice was earned; Katarina had never done much good in her life. From her childhood days she was rigorously trained to be an assassin, and had no time for childish games. Her life was strict, order after order, never any room for failure, lest you disgrace the family name. Her scar was a constant reminder of that failure, and now she had a second one on her back as a reminder of the strength of Noxus alliances. Katarina let out a sigh as Soraka made her way to the exit, probably to inform them of her wakening, leaving Katarina to her thoughts. Her mind wandered, thinking of what to say, the truth, obviously, but how to say it, to be more exact. It wouldn't be easy; she had killed many Demacians. They wouldn't trust her, but she would have to get them to, even if it meant risking her life; she had nothing left. Her almost unbreakable loyalty to Noxus had been shattered and there was no going back. Katarina may be detached but even she was human, and just like all humans, she had emotions, and not all were logical. As she began to think, she realized that what scared her the most was the fact that she was alone. Quickly she suppressed the thought as the tent slid open, revealing a large man in blue and gold armor. She muttered, "We need to talk, Garen."

The man left out a little laugh before speaking himself. "And why should I listen to anything you have to say, Noxian?"

"Swain is taking over Noxus," Katarina stated bluntly. Garen, who had been grinning at the situation, instantly turned serious. What he heard was no laughing matter. While he did not fully believe Katarina, disbelieving her was not a risk he could take; it was only because of Swain's forced retirement that Ionia was able to stand against Noxus. He left, leaving a scribe to take down the information to present to King Jarvan III and Prince Jarvan IV. Garen made his way to the barracks to get any intel he could on recent happening in Noxus. It was a terrifying thought; if what she said was true, and Swain succeeded, even Institute of War would not be able to contain the situation. Katarina sunk into the bed, letting out a sigh. Never in her life had she expected to ask Demacia for help, but here she was, their prisoner, willingly giving them information. While Noxus had betrayed her, the thought was still difficult to stomach. Instead, she decided it would be best to listen to Soraka's advice and get some rest. She knew that the upcoming days were going to be tiring as she would be forced to explain what happened, and why they should trust her; the thought of it gave her a headache. She had never liked the political games that filled Demacia, but she would have to deal with it to get her revenge. With that final thought, she slipped back into unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

**(~ = dragged out word Example: Hello~ = Hellooo though in most cases it won't be used happily in this chapter So when I do Darius~ it doesn't mean Dariussss! it is more like Dariusss...)**

**I should Clarify a few things. Bilgewater is a City on Blue Flame Island the home of the Yordles is called Yordle Land (Literally! I was laughing at that.) The rest are quite self-explanatory besides the southern areas. Voodoo Lands = Annie's Home. Shurima Desert = Nasus' Home, Ezreal's source of power. Icathia = Lost city (Rumored to be filled by void according to Kassadin and Malzahar). Kaladoun (I had misspelled that previously and will now be using the correct spelling) is home of baron, dragon and summoner's rift. Plague Jungles is where Rammus was reborn. Most of this information is unnecessary but just kind of nice to know and might be used later on.**

"What do you mean you can't get contact with any of our spies!" Jarvan III yelled at his son, Jarvan IV. Jarvan III was clearly dissatisfied with the report as he was tapping his fingers on his throne out of impatience.

"Currently we are trying to reposition some of our men to get a man inside." Jarvan IV answered calmly.

"Good. You are dismissed." Jarvan III retorted coldly causing Jarvan IV to vacate himself from the throne room. Outside was a readily waiting Garen who, once the prince arrived, came up to him armor clanking loudly followed by about five soldiers.

"His Majesty did not seem to take the news very well." Garen pointed out the obvious, "But should we really believe her story?" He continued.

"It is not so much as not believing it or not. It is a matter that we just can not chance it and with the disappearance of our spy network it may just as well be true." Jarvan IV continued at his brisk pace to the barracks. "Gods bless us if it is." Jarvan ended the conversation leaving the walk in quiet. As they approached the barracks the large building was unmistakable. A large stone building that went three floors up surrounded by a ten foot wall and similar gate guarded by at least ten men at all times. The barracks covered about a three hundred square yards of land giving enough room to house a majority of their elite troops and still have room for training rooms, mess hall, and other luxuries. In most cases it was quiet with just the sounds of sword, archer, and magic practice maybe an occasional brawl but nothing serious. Though in this case it was clear that their was some sort of commotion in the barracks courtyard, specifically around a large white tent positioned on the furthermost left side. Garen signaled for the prince to stand back but when he went to go ahead he found the prince in front of him. "Sir-" He began but was interrupted by a loud yell.

"Get out of the way!" Garen dashed through the crowd to find Soraka holding the group of men out of the tent. "We know she is in there!" Came another voice followed by a bunch of grunts in agreement. Soraka held her staff out ready to defend herself if necessary. Some of the men recognized Garen though and began to back off while others took it as a sign to be more rowdy. The rowdier bunch began to push forward once again but were pushed back when a loud voice boomed behind them.

"Everyone back off now!" Commanded the Prince, getting the men to instantly back off. All but their leader, a large brute like soldier with a deep scar running over his left cheek, who continued to push against Soraka. Garen made his move grabbing the man by the back of his armor and bringing him to the ground and holding his blade above the man's face.

"Never disobey the Prince." Garen snarled at the man who began to crawl backward. If the others were not understanding they were now and none would even look at Garen or the Prince. "I want everyone to return their rooms!" Garen commanded and without an ounce of disobedience they took off making their way back to their rooms. The leader glared at Garen for a second before he himself retreated back into the barracks. Garen sheathed his sword and made his way to Soraka. "I apologize for the men. I shall assign two of my most loyal guards to watch the tent and you." Garen assured the woman who knew she was very lucky they had shown up when they did else they would have easily made it past her and probably taken justice into their own hands. Garen then slid the flap of the tent open and made his way in.

"So they know I'm here, eh?" Katarina called to Garen as he entered. It had been a week since most of her wounds had healed including the one on her leg. She was still chained up but she was given a little more freedom. Once a day, under _heavy_ supervision, she was allowed some physical exercise inside the tent. She mostly did her usual physical exercises; crunches, squats, balancing, and dancing. Dancing keeps movements fluid and a great way to train. Though it wasn't your typical _dance_ but more of switching between stances, like in Lee Sin's fighting style, allowing her greater movement in battle while making it more graceful. When Garen first watched the scene he laughed aloud startling everyone in the room. Here was the woman who had given him so much trouble in the past and her training included dancing, he almost had to go to the little soldiers room after laughing as hard as he did. However, in this case she was chained up granting her little movement.

"Yes it appears we will have to relocate you to a more private location." Garen answered opening the flap of the tent to gesture for the Prince to enter. "For the meantime, you have a guest." He continued as Jarvan IV and one guard entered, Jarvan having to duck slightly due to his height. Katarina's face was one of mild surprise.

"Good afternoon, Miss Du Couteau." Jarvan IV spoke up. "I would like to apologize for the poor hospitality."

"To be honest I am surprised that I remained a secret this long. What almost two weeks?" Katarina returned the small talk. Garen, though, was getting frustrated at how she was speaking so casually to the Prince.

"Yes," snarled Garen as he stood between the two.

Katarina ignored Garen. "Is there something you wanted?" She directed the question to Jarvan IV, she was still working on sitting up in her bed to get a better view of the Prince and his personal guard that entered, but the lack of arm movement made it extremely difficult.

He was, by all means, a handsome man with his slight stubble, long black hair, and fierce looking face. _'He's probably a lady killer.'_ Katarina thought to herself. His armor had been replaced by a set of royal garb that hung loosely from his shoulders made with only the finest silk. Fitting of the Demacian style it was a mix of blue's and golds', though it did contain some other colors they were masked by the vast quantity of the other two colors. It looked about as comfortable as it looked stylish, not at all. It was clear that Jarvan IV preferred his armor as he was constantly adjusting the clothes to fall in a fashion that would not be in the way, but to no avail the clothes always fell in a way that would interfere with his arm movements. With a sigh he gave up and returned to the woman in front of him.

"Yes," Jarvan finally answered drawing out a piece of paper that had some scribbled notes on it. "I just wish to go over some details with you. Specifically why you came here, to Demacia. Surely you had other places you could go?"

"Honestly, I would of preferred the Institute of War but we were intercepted by Swain's troops. As for the other city-states none were as readily available as yours. Ionia, Bandle City, and Bilgewater are only accessible by sea. Piltover would require us to go through Zaun, an ally of Swain's. And the Freljord... they are more likely to kill on sight then ask questions." Katarina went over a brief explanation of her choices. "Plus what is the only thing Swain fears? Even if just a little." She continued.

"That does make sense..." Jarvan IV responded while his personal guard began scribbling a few words down. "And about your group that you fled with?"

"Mostly dead. Many of the troops we brought with us sacrificed themselves to save us, while a few fled when we set up camp. By the time we got to the Marshes it was just my sister, Talon, and I." Katarina continued knowing full well he was just testing her to see if she was lying, but as he began to speak up once again a man burst into the tent.

"Sir," He saluted before continuing. "I have a message from Noxus! From a..." He quickly looks down at the name he scribbled onto a piece of paper. "Tennyson." Tennyson was the codename of their most elite spy. Never once had he been caught, or even noticed but for him to send a message by letter was a sign that he was in danger. Quickly Garen took the letter fro the man and opened it. Out fell a Noxian coin and a crow feather inching towards the ground, the coin shattered as it hit the grass while the feather remained hovering off the ground. Everyone stared at the two objects.

"Sir," Garen began. "I think we should prepare for war."

Jarvan IV looked at Garen as if studying him before responding. "I need you to get your sister back here as soon as possible."

"Huh? Why?" Garen asked confused as to why they needed Luxanna.

"She has many _friends_ that might prove useful allies; Ionia, Piltover, Bandle City, and even Bilgewater." Jarvan listed off the names of numerous city-states that would prove useful allies. Garen replied with a salute before making off to an Orb of Communication, the same ones summoners use to communicate to them, to contact Luxanna Crownguard, the Lady Luminosity. Jarvan turned to Katarina. "Thank you for the warning. I shall have a room prepared for you by the end of the day." and with that Jarvan made his exit leaving to of his personal guard to protect her. _'She might just prove herself to be a useful asset.'_ Jarvan thought to himself making his way to the palace to inform his father of the new information.

o-O-^-O-o

_"What is it brother?"_ Luxanna answered her brothers telepathic link. Garen gave out little details saying only that she would be needed immediately. _"I understand."_ Luxanna responded as the connection began to fade her face had turned solemn. Quickly her company picked up on the sudden mood change.

"What's the matter?" Jayce, the Defender of Tomorrow, asked, just barely getting it in before Caitlyn, the Sheriff of Piltover, earning him a sour look.

"It appears I am needed back home." Luxanna answered thinking why she was being called back so suddenly. In the end all she could come up with was their might be a small threat and like usual her brother overreacted. "Well I am going to go pack for my return trip." Luxanna waved as she began walking towards her hotel still pondering the reason she was being called home she did not notice Vi run over to the group she had just left.

"Have you heard the rumor?" She asked the small group who had kicked back after Luxanna left. "They say Demacia caught the Sinister Blade!" Ezreal fell backwards out of the chair he had just reclined in while Caitlyn's mouth just hung agape. Jayce, for once, was quiet as Vi explained what she had heard. Of course, being a rumor made it almost entirely false leaving only the capture of the Sinister Blade being the truth. "They say it took over a hundred men and..." Vi began drawing everyone's interest. Luxanna was out of earshot by that time. The walk back to her hotel wasn't far and when she arrived there was already a few soldiers with her luggage ready to leave, quickly she clambered up into the magic carriage. The carriage was just an ordinary carriage that instead ran on magic rather than horses, one of the many unique types of magic that Runeterra had to offer, and with the sound of flowing magic they were off. Luxanna decided to take a nap for the seventeen hour ride back home. Making herself comfortable she began to drift off to sleep.

o-O-^-O-o

"Is everything set?" A calloused voice asked as sat in his new throne. He wore a long black robe covered with gold plated armor on his shoulders and chest. For his age and size it looked like it was a miracle he was able to stand, but don't be deceived the man was more fit than the average twenty year old. The robes rose to just above the man's mouth leaving part of his face exposed. He had little hair kept in a short mohawk, his eyebrows were very large and rose high on his forehead while his red eyes glared out at you under his stoic face, and lastly sitting on his left shoulder was a large raven with six red eyes. A large man carrying an even larger ax entered the room shoving open the door making a large commotion.

"Let me go after her!" The man demanded. "It's because of _her _that my brother is dead! I will not let her see the end of this week!"

"Darius~" Swain began after turning from the person he was previously talking with. "If you wish to have revenge~" Swain paused. "Than I shall not stop you. However if you come back and she still lives~ You will join your brother." His words were calm even though he had just threatened to take the mans life.

"You have my word." Darius replied, getting down on one knee and bowing his head before quickly leaving.

"You~" Swain said pointing at what looked to be nothing when a woman appeared from the shadows. The many guards in the room blinked in surprise wondering just where the woman came from. "Make sure he does not fail~" With a nod the woman disappeared once again and Swain let out a pleased smile turning back to whom he had been speaking with prior to the interruption. "Ah~ Sorry about that. We were at?"

"The invasion of Blue Flame Island and then Yordle Land. All the troops are prepared for battle, but what about the Institute?" The cloaked figure asked, their voice muffled by the thick cloth.

"Ah~ The Institute of War... Brings back good memories does it not? Freely able to kill without so much as a word against it. I asked an old friend for a favor~..." Swain let out a large mischievous grin followed by a slow cackle that slowly evolved into a maniacal fit of laughter. The cloaked figure let out a small laugh to show their pleasure in the situation. With that the figure walked out, the sound of metal clearly ringing on each step.

o-O-^-O-o

"Kayle, can you please make haste to Demacia? We have received word that they have urgent news to share with the Institute." A cloaked summoner said, as he approached Kayle. Kayle gave the the summoner a quick glance from her work at her desk before letting out a sigh.

"Would you mind if I brought a few companions? Last time I went I was attacked by a small group of bandits, unlucky for them but I grow tired of fighting and I believe a larger group will deter the majority of thieves." The summoner agreed and quickly made way back to where he came from. As Kayle finished the last of her recordings, about the civilization here on Runeterra, she began to think just who was still at the Institute. Twisted Fate was out gambling in a nearby town, Soraka had gone to Demacia already, Riven had been spending a lot of time in Ionia to help rebuild, Poppy was busy with negotiations with Demacia, even fiddles and Nocturne had vanished - Not that Kayle would of brought either of those beasts with her -, only the gods knew where Kog' Maw is - Though probably somewhere with a large quantity of food -, and Cho' Gath was having tea with the Ionian string-master - Sona, Oddly enough the beast found such a setting very much delectable -, and Alistar had returned to looking for more of his kind. This left only a five of the regulars at the Institute, which Kayle decided to bring along; Zilean, Janna, Galio, and Wukong. Kayle set out to alert them of their imminent departure to Demacia.

o-O-^-O-o

Luxanna, with a large stretch and yawn, woke up from her nap and quickly took a look outside the window to get a quick glance of her surroundings. Based on the landscape she put them at about the Howling Marsh, but because it was dark it was difficult to tell. As she was watched the surrounds around her she thought she saw something move she rubbed her eyes and looked out again, but this time she saw nothing and quickly passed it off as being tired. She pulled out a small book she had been reading, it was a simple book that wasn't more than three hundred pages, as she began reading her mind kept drifting back to what she saw. In the end she was forced to put down the book and took another look out the window. This time she saw two silhouettes running, one looked almost as if it were chasing the other, and suddenly the one in back tumbled forward and vanished from sight before reappearing in front of the creature. Quickly she let out an unusually large bolt from the crossbow she pulled of her back and the creature flew into a nearby tree. By this time even Luxanna's guards had noticed the two's intrusion and had stopped the carriage to investigate. From the spells used by the creature it seemed like a type of witch and Luxanna jumped out of the carriage to see what was happening, plus she had a fairly good idea of whom the silhouetted figure was. Her guards tried to stop her but when light bends it is easy to mistake one object for another and they soon found that she was long past the them.

"-ve been condemned." Was all Luxanna heard as another bolt pierced the witch as she tried to plead he innocence only to now remain quiet, not even breathing. Luxanna knew better than to sneak up on the Night Hunter, and kept several feet back before calling out to her.

"Miss Vayne, is that you?" Needlessly to say Luxanna found herself staring down Vayne's hand-crossbow, slowly as Vayne began to recall who she was pulled her hand away. "It is good to see you." Luxanna continued not fazed by Vayne's impolite greeting.

"You shouldn't be out here, Luxanna Crownguard." Was all Vayne said before turning to leave.

"If you are going to Demacia feel free to join us." Luxanna pointed to the carriage just outside the edge of the forest. Vayne seemed to contemplate the idea before finally deciding.

"Very well." Vayne was of few words, and always serious. She had been that way since her parent's were killed while she hid in a cupboard as the witch slowly tore them apart before leaving her alive to suffer. Ever since then the happy child had died and in it's place was the current Shauna Vayne, Night Hunter. Luxanna led the way, for Vayne did not like having anyone behind her, to the carriage where Luxanna climbed in. Vayne chose to sit atop the carriage for a better view of the surrounding area making her feel just a tad safer. There were still about nine more hours left on the trip. She pulled out the book once again, this time finding it easier to focus, and began to read. She didn't even realize when she had fallen asleep and awoke as the carriage halted at the city walls.

_'Now I wonder what it was that brother wanted?' _Luxanna began to ponder once again before Vayne slid herself inside the carriage, she was after all wanted by many authorities that did not approve of her vigilante behavior. As they neared the Castle Luxanna gave up on trying to decide and would wait till her brother told her. She began to fix her clothing, which had wrinkled during the long drive, and when she looked up Vayne had disappeared getting a small chuckle from Luxanna. _'I'll never understand her.' _Luxanna thought to herself as the carriage made it's way into the _stables_. She hopped out and made her way inside, she would not expect what would happen as she opened up her door, which had extra guards on it for a strange reason.

"Hiya roommate!" Katarina said as she relaxed on a second bed that had been moved into her room. Luxanna stared blankly at the woman before walking out of the room, making sure she was in the right area. Walking in again and seeing that the redhead was indeed still there.

_'What is going on here?!'_

**I would like to thank everyone that read the first chapter (And now this one). It topped off at 115 views by the end of the first day and 5 fav/follows. I would also like to thank Darkness and anon for their reviews. To be honest it is my first time writing action so I thought it would be pretty bad but a lot of people liked it! Sadly Chapter 2 isn't as action paced but I hoped you liked it.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I know this will sound weird but I did a little research on the word Blond or Blonde. Now you are probably thinking they are the same word and you would be correct, but Blond is used as a masculine noun while Blonde is used as a feminine noun. There is more Blond, if used as an adjective, can be used for males or females. Though my auto-correct likes to tell me Blonde is not a word. Silly auto-correct. Also sorry for the long wait but I got tired of waiting for us to rework it so I am going to post chp 3 now and update it later with the fixed version.**

"Brother!" Luxanna called out, as she made her way to his room. "We need to talk!" Luxanna demanded, storming up the long hallway. Garen's room was clear on the other side of the grand hall, a ten minute walk from Luxanna's, but she didn't care, making as much noise as possible. Shortly after she had reentered her room, Luxanna had bolted making haste as she fled from Katarina, but to her surprise Katarina did not follow or stop her; however, this did not stop her from seeking out her brother for answers. Halfway to Garen's room Luxanna was startled by a loud roar as the residing person burst out.

"Will you be quiet already!" Shyvana roared, startling the blonde enough to cause her to stumble against the wall out of shock. "Or do you wish to wake the whole palace?"

Luxanna did not even offer a rebuttal as she began to speak. "Ka- Ka- Kata-" she fumbled over her words, still in shock from Shyvana's roar. Her stammering only added fuel to the fire of Shyvana's anger.

"Speak!" Shyvana said in frustration, tired of all the incompetent humans she was surrounded by.

"Katarina Du Couteau is in my room!" Luxanna finally found the words and spat them out, just barely slow enough to be understood. Luxanna's panicked attitude and serious tone only caused Shyvana to roar with laughter before responding.

"Is that it? Then I am going to back to bed," Shyvana replied, turning away to head back into her room, but was caught by Luxanna who gave her a set of puppy eyes in hopes of an explanation. "Seriously? Your brother told you nothing?" Luxanna shook her head getting a exhausted sigh from Shyvana. Grabbing Luxanna by her arm, she led her inside the room. Slowly she began to describe what happened. "... and that is pretty much it," she concluded almost forgetting the last part. "Oh yeah. Prince Jarvan IV," her words bubbled with joy as she said his name, "decided that you will be keeping watch over her for the time being."

"Why?" Was all Luxanna could ask, shocked by that last minute addition.

"Seeing as I would kill her and so would anyone in the barracks if they found her, they felt the safest spot would be with you. You are, after all, the one who said _that_ last month at the meeting," Shyvana reminded Luxanna.

_"'Those damn Noxians!' Garen cried out, enraged at the latest attack. _

_'We aren't sure yet that it was them,' Xin Zhao spoke calmly. _

_'I'm sure they had something to do with it!' Garen began again. _

_'But we don't know for sure. As for now we have to take their word.' Jarvan IV said, entering into the conversation, but his tone answered just what he thought on the Noxians __**word**__._

_'We need evidence first,' came the reasonable voice of Xin Zhao_

_'By then they will already be knocking on the door!' Garen protested, his hatred for Noxians clearly showing._

_'The institute would not allow such a thing to happen,' said a summoner, who had been invited to make sure there were no plans on retaliation, without probable cause._

_'The institute is still cleaning up after the intervention at Kalamanda! All of which was caused by Noxus!"' Garen rebutted, the summoner prepared to debate on the fault of Kalamanda, but was interrupted._

_'Silence!' Jarvan IV called out over everyone, bringing the room to a tension filled silence. It was then Luxanna chose to talk._

_'Brother, not everything is Noxus' fault. Yes some Noxians are more brutal than others, but are we not the same? Have we not killed? Have we really truly been righteous in all things? Who is really good in all this death?' Luxanna's point only built the tension: Xin Zhao nodded his head in agreement, Garen remained quiet, Jarvan knew she was right, but most were downright angry at her accusation. Soon the room began running amok. Insults were flung while some tried to defend Demacia, but what Luxanna had said was the truth. The only thing that made them different than the __**barbarians**__ was their justice system. The meeting was adjourned, as they were unable to bring order to the group, leaving the decision up to Jarvan himself. It was later discovered that the attack was, contrary to Garen's claims, not by Noxus, but a small bandit group trying to provoke conflict between the two groups."_

"Yeah..." Luxanna said, realizing that she was indeed the only option. Sure she didn't _hate_ Katarina, but she certainly had no liking to her either; Katarina and her had clashed multiple times on the Fields of Justice, but they had rarely spoken besides taunts or jokes at the others expense. In fact, their longest conversation to date was only two lines: "Get out of the way" and "Okay." _'Just what am I supposed to do?'_ Luxanna thought to herself, as this time she made her way out to the courtyard now lost in her thoughts. It was cold out that night and Luxanna's attire had little protection from the cold; her armor may cover almost the entirety of her skin, from her neck down, but the material is so thin that the wind easily enters. Shyvana, still angry from being awoken, slammed her door closed and stretched out onto her bed. She mumbled the Prince's name as she slowly returned to the dream she had been having, a smile on her face. Luxanna, however, sat in the courtyard watching the swaying of the flowers, hours passed and she watched the sun rise, the gardeners mad scramble to clean the path, and she left when the Prince began his morning stroll; at his side were Garen and Shyvana. She was tired, and without thinking, made her way to her room; luckily for her, she found the assassin asleep, and took the opportunity to quickly get some sleep. Even after sleeping most of the way from Piltover she couldn't help but feel exhausted, and was out almost the second her head hit the pillow.

o-O-^-O-o

"He said he would be right back," Kayle stated, the group was beginning to get worried. Wukong had forgotten something "Extremely important," as he said, at the institute; he had left to go retrieve it, but that was just under twenty four hours ago. The trip back was only a four hour trip and even if he spent an hour looking for the item he should have returned long ago.

"We can always go and check on him," Galio answered and everyone nodded in response, though to Zilean it felt like Wukong had left only five minutes ago but that was the problem with Chronodisplasia, time passed differently for him then it did for others and it wasn't always slower. The group quickly picked up the little gear they had and tossed it back onto the carriage and began the trip back, but they could never be prepared for what they saw.

"Hey what do you call a Yordle with a cupcake?" Zilean asked as they began approaching the last few hills to the Institute.

"What?" Kayle asked in her typical monotonous tone.

"Lucky!" Zilean began to chuckle to himself but everyone just stared at him as if he were crazy. "You know... Caitlyn's traps... Cupcakes... Ah forget it!" Zilean gave up before turning to face forward almost instantly his face distorted in shock. They had yet to round the bend but Zilean could see it.

Where the institute once stood was a large black cloud. The black cloud engulfed all of the Institute masking it from view. As they continued around the bend it became visible for the rest just how horrifying the sight was. The swirling black cloud looked almost like it was slowly devouring the building. Brick by brick the building was decaying almost as if the passage of time had been sped up so quickly that everything was growing old. Zilean could feel the temporal distortion coursing through the air, whatever that smoke was if was causing anything it touches to decay. Kayle began to leap forward before Zilean stopped her.

"No!" Zilean cried out as a tendril of the smoke whisked past them and smashed into a tree. In almost an instant the spot touched began to age and slowly it began to corrupt the rest of the tree. Piece by piece the tree began to rot and die crumbling to nothing more than ash in the wind. Everyone stood in shock but Janna quickly reacted by whisking the wind around the group to prevent any of the wind from reaching them. They made their way closer slowly watching the place they called home crumble into oblivion. It was then that they saw Wukong. He just sat there kneeling in front of the cloud, eyes wide in terror, but somehow untouched by the cloud. Or so it looked, he held up his left hand and watched as slowly the fur curled and died, the flesh and muscle began to wrinkle and flake, the tendons dried and turned to dust, and lastly the bones began to crumble. Slowly it worked its way into his palm. Kayle reacted, quickly she dashed forward pulling out her sword as she used her wings to boost her when she felt a gust pick up from behind. A quick glance over her shoulder revealed Janna ushering the wind behind her. She made it to Wukong in record time, but by then the corruption had spread into his forearm. Kayle took aim and brought her sword down just after Wukong's elbow, completely severing it from his body. She grabbed the monkey and made a mad sprint for the group. Zilean tore off part of his extensive garb, and tossed the piece to Kayle who quickly formed a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. Quickly the tumbled into the carriage and sped off. It was clear to them that anyone still inside was surely dead or that they had managed to escape using the secret tunnels. There just wasn't anyway they could pull off a rescue mission, and with one look back they rounded the corner. The carefree attitude they had had previously was gone and now they felt the rage boil. The magical presence was one they all knew it was chaotic, malicious, unprotected, and deadly. It was Zaun. Even Kayle, who was always stoic, had a face of anger as she tried to tend to Wukong. While she could heal, she was by no means able to close a wound that large, but she could not do nothing. Janna used her gusts to speed up the carriage with the help of Galio, as they used his large wings as a type of sail. Even with all this Demacia was still six hours away, leaving them with only a few hopes that they would arrive in time.

o-O-^-O-o

"Wonderful~. Isn't it?" Swain turned to Singed pointing to the large projection on the wall. The projection revealed the institute as it slowly crumbled to ashes.

"Yes. I did create it after all, though it is a shame there were survivors." Singed responded. "And now for what was promised?"

"Ah yes~." Swain signaled a guard who brought forward a quill and contract.

_I, Jericho Swain, hereby grant Singed the power of the Noxian army and the land called Ionia, under these conditions. _

_I can at any time dissolve the contract if any evidence of treachery is found._

_His judgment can only be used in the Ionian Conflict._

_He can not undermine me, Jericho Swain, in any way shape or form._

_Shall he fail he is to be swiftly executed._

_He shall assist in all Noxian wars as long as he can still fight._

Singed only glanced the page before signing it himself. He only wanted what he thought he rightfully deserved, Ionia. With that Singed left with a crooked smile, hidden under the bandages. 'O_nly a little longer and Ionia will be mine,'_ was all Singed thought about. Sure he had to help with the invasion of Bilgewater and Bandle City, but after that Ionia would be his.

"He will be a useful tool~," Swain spoke as he continued to watch the destruction unfold in front of him.

"Sir." A guard approached, obviously tormented by the thught of bringing bad news to Swain. Swain held up his hand; he watched the front entrance of the institute crumble before turning his attention to the man. "The troops aren't ready to depart, Sir! It appears that some of our ships were not properly maintained and will sink if put to sea, Sir."

"Well~" A tone of agitation on his voice, "What's your name boy?"

"Uh..., Private Frank Ludner, Sir." He responded.

"Well~, Private Ludner, would you be so kind to give this~ to the people who were supposed to maintain the ships~?" He handed the man a small bag, in it lie a few capsules of poison. It was the _honorable_ way out; the only way that also kept your name from slander. Only few declined the poison, for ones that did were slandered and executed. The soldier took the poison and made his way back; he was happy he was not the one who had to take it, but rueful for his assignment as the messenger for the others.

o-O-^-O-o

"Is everyone alright?" A harsh voice called out checking on the few others that were around them. The figure wore a large black cloak draped over their head that travelled to their feet; this hid everything: gender face, body shape, and more. Underneath that large cloak was a person who did not wish to be known, did not want to be recognized, and did not want to fight. It was during their trip past the Institute that the person noticed the small group of refuges taking shelter in the nearby cave. Taking up the opportunity the person offered to help.

"I think we mostly made it out unscathed, but our injured are over there." The leader of the group, an average sized man dwarfed by the visitor's height, said, directing the person towards a small corner of their refugee camp where they had about four or five people bandaged. To the left was a small figure draped by a sheet. The man noticed the gaze and began to explain. "That was the Yordle summoner Aran, he- he was crushed by the rocks in the tunnel and didn't make it..."

"Do you have any medicine?" the cloaked figure asked, holding out a hand.

"Only a small amount," he replied, "but if you can help please do." He handed the figure the small basket of medicine. At first glance it looked like a sizeable amount, but stool relaxant as well as a bunch of others were useless. Only about a third of the things in the basket proved to be of some worth: bandages, disinfectant, painkillers, and tranquilizers*. The figure shook their head, but this would have to do; quickly the person got to work starting from the most severe case, an elderly man with a large-red bandage wrapped tightly around his head and arms. It took almost an hour to treat most of the wounds; their knowledge of medicine and anatomy had been mainly used for killing not healing, but for that it was a fairly good job. Standing up they began making the rounds, keeping check on the ones closer to death, and treating whatever wounds they could. That night was a long night, but the figure never faltered keeping everyone properally attended.

One pair of eyes watched the figure closely, she swore their was something about this person she recognized, but couldn't quite place it. She satisfied her curiosity by watching the figure; Irelia Lito, Will of the Blades, was looking for any slips that might reveal the identity of the so called _helper_. Giving up hope for any physical evidence of the identity she closed eyes and felt the air around her. It bobbed and swayed with every movement from every object, as it flowed through and out of everything. Focusing it, like her father had taught her, on the figure before her. There was no difference, and with a sigh she made her way to the tent. She had only been on her way back to the institute because of some wild rumors she had heard about Noxus. Luckily, Irelia and her group had stopped to help a small caravan repair their wheel, as if they hadn't they would of been inside the swirling cloud that engulfed the Institute. Her senses warned her to go nowhere near the cloud so instead they began to look for survivors and found this small enclave. When the stranger arrived things were a slight mess, none of her group knew any medical knowledge and thus were useless, but their quantity of food had proved more than enough to sate the survivors. Entering her tent she made her way to a large box, opening it her blades hummed like they actually enjoyed the sight within. She ran her hand across the blade, though broken, Irelia admired its beauty. The rune glowed a dull green, which surprised Irelia, as she had never seen it do that before. She ran her finger across the rune's engraved surface. Even a smile broke her face as a few broken memories began to replay in her mind.

o-O-^-O-o

"Hey wake up," she called out to the white haired woman that lay on the ground. The woman stirred, it was obvious that she hadn't had food for days as her ribs were exposed. Irelia began to pour the water into the woman's mouth. The eyes that opened plead for more and soon she took her under her wing. Even after Irelia learned of Riven's identity she continued to help the woman. For once in her life, Irelia, found herself not as a tool but a person: a living, breathing, functioning person, and she liked it.

She recalled the walks along the cliffs of Ionia, the meals they had after a few too many to drink, and even the practice matches they had against each other. All the happy memories danced through her head, but her blades did not move they hung there as she got to the last memory. When she awoke and Riven had disappeared. No word, no warning, not even a hint of her disappearance, and all that was left was her broken runic great sword. It was one of the few times Irelia had truly cried, it was also then that Irelia realized her true feelings for the Noxian. Though saddened by the memory her face did not show it, in fact it looked almost like she was happy. Standing up she made her way to the small corner and grabbed the cloaked figure.

"I found you Riven."

**Tranquilizers are pretty much painkillers but also sedate the user. Good for calming people or helping them sleep while they are in pain or will be.**

**To "Guest:" Since you are a guest I couldn't PM you the answer. Paragraph 1 contains 11 commas, para 2 contains 9, para 3 contains 13 (And is shorter than the previous two). All of which were added following comma guides on legitimate grammar websites. If you noticed a mistake of one of their uses please point it out so I can fix it.**

**For being such a long time since the update I also decided to include my belief how the league works. Earlier i called it an illusion. In reality they say that they revive every champion each time they die but take in account how many powerful summoners it took to revive Sion so I disregard that belief. Instead I think of it as more of an Illusion. In that illusion the summoner controls the champion who is now possessing the illusion of themselves. Because of the skill level of the summoners they are only able to replicate four different special attacks, abilities, and each time they "die" they are recreating the illusion. In my opinion this makes a lot more sense and also seems like a more lore friendly thing as it took a large amount of Summoners to resurrect Sion and they do that everytime one of the champions die? Find it hard to believe? I do so I decided to create my own theory. Got any questions on it feel free to PM me and I will answer to the best I can.**


	4. Chapter 4

**In this chapter I focused more on the other characters than Lux and Kat. I want to give some back story to the characters and even answer some lore questions. Cloaked figure from chp 2 is revealed and the story even includes the soon to be released champion Yasuo, the Unforgiven. So if you don't know his lore I suggest you go read a part of it. Also it is one thirty when I am revising this so I apologize for any spelling mistakes and ask that if you do spot one feel free to send me a PM and I'll correct it.**

"I found you Riven."

Almost out of instinct Riven grabbed at her side, where her weapon used to be, only to be met by her cloak. There was a quiet hum in the air, sounding similar to a tuning fork, as Irelia's blades were shaking at such a high speed. She tried to pull out of Irelia's grip, but Irelia refused to let go, even getting dragged a little. Seeing as she couldn't escape Irelia's grip, she stopped trying to run. Riven just stood there, refusing to look at the person grabbing a hold of her. _'I'm hurting her,'_ Riven told herself, hurting herself mentally, _'Don't be selfish. This is better for everyone.'_ "I'm leaving after tonight," she spoke to Irelia, her words cutting deeply into not only herself, but Irelia as well. Irelia's grip loosened as her blades hung in the air, but even this depression failed to bring any emotion to her face. Riven shook her arm free and made her way to another patient, holding back the tears that now threatened to fall, and as she tended to the injured man she held back with all her strength to not look back.

Slowly, at first, the man began to speak, "You care for that woman don't you?" Riven only responded with a nod, knowing that if she tried to speak the tears would fall. "Then why aren't you with her?" His words hurt worse than any weapon she had faced before. Oh how Riven wanted to be by Irelia's side, but she couldn't, at least that is what she told herself.

"It is better for her if I am not there," Riven answered, her tears beginning to escape. "I'm just... broken."

"And she is the glue that holds you together," he said, stealing the thought right from her mind. Riven tried to protest but her mouth just hung open, as she searched for the right words, only to close her mouth. "Go on now, it isn't like we'll die without you here," he joked, his laugh caused a shot of pain up his side where he had a large gash. Riven reached out to help, but he just waved her off and pointed for her to go, mouthing the words "Good luck."

Irelia had returned to her tent where she had reopened the box containing the broken great sword. She and it were very much alike, just a broken tool without Riven. When her tent's flap was pulled open she didn't even turn to face the intruder, probably just one of her guards telling her they needed to leave for Ionia soon. They would be right, the Elders would need to know what had happened. "It looks like you took good care of it," Riven said from behind her, looking down at her weapon. Quickly Irelia spun around to be met by Riven's chin, she tilted her head to look her in her eyes. "I was wondering if I might hitch a ride to Ionia with you..." a smile spread across Irelia's face, albeit it was only for a split second, but a smile nonetheless.

"Anytime," Irelia began, "we leave in a day or two."

o-O-^-O-o

"Hey," Luxanna heard someone call out to her. "You are making too much noise," whoever it was kept calling out to her. They poked her, but she answered by turning onto her side. The person stopped bothering her and she wiggled deeper into her blankets. Until a thought hopped into her mind, _'Who was that?'_ Almost the second the thought jumped into her mind so did the answer; bolting upright she spun around to see the person she didn't want to see, Katarina. Her luck dropped even more when the assassin turned around. "Ah good you are awake. Now if you would be so kind as to get me breakfast, I get grumpy when I am hungry."

_'Huh?'_ Luxanna thought. "Why don't you get your own?" she asked aloud, confused as to why she couldn't.

"As much fun as it would be to dodge everyone out there trying to kill me, I just really want to eat peacefully," Katarina answered, Luxanna mentally hit herself for the stupid question. She really wanted to leave anyway and this was a perfect excuse, taking little time to get ready she dashed out the door and made her way to the kitchen. Katarina, on the other hand, began to do her morning stretches. As Luxanna got to the kitchen she found two platters waiting for her, one with her name on it while the other had "Guest" written on it. Luxanna heaved a sigh of relief, she had been afraid she would end up getting Katarina the wrong thing, and began to return to the room. On her way out she bumped into a familiar face, Shauna Vayne. In her hands was a large cup of coffee, Luxanna detested the stuff, as she slowly made her way towards the guest rooms.

"Vayne!" she called out, getting only a look that would kill most before Vayne continued around the bend. Luxanna turned the same corner Vayne had just moments before, but found only an empty hallway, with a shrug she began to return to her room. Vayne however had ducked into the closest room she could find. She found Luxanna all around too cheerful to be near, and thus tried to avoid her more often then not. Feeling it was safe, Vayne exited the room to bump into none other than Garen.

"Ah... Shuana Vayne? What were you doing in the men's room?" Garen asked suspiciously, as Vayne was clearly female.

"Avoiding your sister," Vayne responded, as if it were no big deal.

"Why? Is she just so cute and lovable, She is like a goddess!" Garen fawned over his sister. Vayne took two steps away and began to leave.

"You are disgusting," she said, trying to insult Garen, but he only smiled and made his way past, leaving Vayne to whatever she was up to. Probably better he didn't know anyways.

Luxanna on the other hand had paused outside the door, preparing herself for what might come: a sneak attack, blunt or cold attitude, and possibly a fight. With a deep breath Luxanna pulled open the door and turned to see Katarina. Luxanna almost dropped the food from what she saw; Katarina was dancing, not just any dance, but the waltz. Luxanna knew people danced as a form of training, but that was almost always some higher tempo dance or stance change. Quickly Luxanna turned around to make her way out without being spotted when the door closed with a loud click. She could feel the sweat begin to bead on her forehead as she rotated her head to be met by Katarina's gaze.

"You saw, didn't you?" Katarina asked, her gaze never faltering.

"N- N- No, I d- don't know what you're talking about!" Luxanna answered, her mind running rampant wondering if this would be how she died.

"You're lying," Katarina began, "how much?"

_'How much what? How much do I want to die? How much before she stops beating me?'_ Lux began to think, incorrectly albeit.

"How much did you see?" Katarina repeated, clarifying Luxanna as to what she meant. Luxanna almost let out a sigh of relief, but she stifled it.

"Only about the last twenty seconds or so..." Luxanna answered, expecting her death to be immenent and hopefully painless, but instead Katarina spoke.

"Don't tell anyone. Not even your diary. You know it really was a good read when I was bored," Katarina ended with a sigh. Luxanna on the other hand was in shock, her diary, which was supposed to be one of the most difficult locks to crack, was picked open and read by her enemy. "Oh, did you not want me to read that? You shouldn't have left it on the desk," she responded to Luxanna's look of horror.

"You- You- You EVIL PERSON!" Luxanna shouted at the red haied woman, who was quite surprised at the outburst.

"Wait, did you just try to insult me by calling me an _evil person_? That's cute," Katarina said in between laughs, only embarrassing Luxanna more. By this time Luxanna had set the trays down onto her bed.

"Whatever just eat your breakfast," Luxanna said, in an attempt to derail the conversation.

"Oh, right! Food!" Katarina called out, quickly lifting the lids of both trays. Disappointment shot across her face. "What no steak and eggs? No Calamari?"

"Nope, toast and scrambled eggs. You should be happy your not just getting the leftovers, you are after all a _prisoner_," Luxanna answered, digging into her plate of eggs. The sight was about as graceful as a pack of dogs tearing apart a rabbit, eggs were falling off the plate as Luxanna shoveled the food down. Katarina just gaped in awe how this _dignified_ woman of the Crownguard name could eat in such a disheveled manner. With a swallow Luxanna began to speak, "I'm already late getting up."

Katarina just shook her head and began to eat herself. The food itself wasn't bland, but the taste itself could be easily overlooked. _'I guess this is alright...'_ Katarina thought, missing her old cook back in Noxus. She never gave the man credit for what he deserved, so she was surprised when he helped them escape. He had later split off from the group to make a new life, just a little before the Kaladoun Marshes. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts of any sentiments, she returned to eating.

Just as Katarina was about finished, a knock came at the door. Shortly after the door was opened to reveal Garen. "Ah good your both here. Come follow me, the League emissaries should be here shortly; our scouts saw them just a few minutes outside the gate," Garen spoke, getting an exasperated sigh from Katarina as he tossed her a summoners cloak to hide her. Slowly the three left to wherever Garen was leading them.

o-O-^-O-o

"Guard Captain!" a guard called out, just as their group was about to head out, "Message from the elder Karma!" He hand off a note to Irelia, just after she slid on her large red boots.

"That is... interesting. I will get right to it," She handed the note back to the guard who ran off to the rest. She slid out of her tent, holding up a hand to block the sun from her eyes, but found the action unnecessary as a tall white-haired woman eclipsed the sun. "Ah just who I was looking for. Riven, Karma would like us to head to Demacia to report our findings. It's a shame so many summoners were lost," she began.

"Based off what I saw, most made it out alive. Summoner Aran was the only death I had encountered in all the camps. In fact, most camps had no wounded. However, there were over a hundred missing," Riven corrected, a slight smile on her face.

"How many camps are there? We searched nearby and only found this group." Irelia asked, a little confused.

Riven held out her hand and began to count her fingers, as she got well past thirty Irelia stopped her. "Well this was the newest group of summoners so they weren't as familiar with teleporting so they only managed to make it to the escape tunnels. You should see the camp where the head summoner is! He teleported an entire section of the institute with him!" Riven spoke, almost like she was a little kid that was amazed by a magician's tricks. Irelia found the thought that just a few years ago this giant kid had been one of the invaders of Ionia. Yet, unlike any of the others she stood against Noxus' use of Zuanite technology, claiming it to be cowardly and weak, and deserted. Her search eventually brought her to Ionia, the very land she helped defile, in hopes to help erase the scars caused by her sins. Things didn't start easily, she was attacked and beaten multiple times for being a Noxian, even when she tried to assist them. She was sure she was going to die when luck stumbled upon her in the shape of Guard Captain Irelia Lito. For some reason she felt she could trust the woman who, if it had been during the war, she would have cut down without a second thought only years before. It started as a thought that she could atone for her sins by helping her, and that that was the reason why she found herself drawn to the woman.

Master Yi, the Wuju Bladesman, had a difficult time accepting the woman, and to this day he still does not. Most of the Ionians took heed of Yi's words and began to distance themselves from Riven. The elder Karma spoke against Yi's words declaring them unjust, as it was clear Riven was seeking a path of enlightenment and thus deserved the same treatment as all. This action only worsened the situation as it split the Ionians into two groups: Those who did not want Riven and those that believed she deserved equal treatment. It wasn't until Irelia spoke out that things began to calm. Irelia went so far as to call Riven her friend, claiming both sides to be illogical. One claimed equality for all, when they themselves treated Irelia - an Ionian - as a tool, and the other who refused to accept a Noxian, especially one that had taken part in the invasion of Ionia, yet accepted Ahri, a fox that required life to maintain a human form; Soraka, a celestial that used her powers to harm others banishing her from the gods; and Yi, a man who had almost lost himself to vengeance when he lost his village. People began to understand, while she was not fully accepted, people began to attempt to see her in a new light. There was still doubt and distrust among the people, and there would always be; what Riven had done wasn't something you could easily put behind them. She had confessed to everything she had done to Ionia, and while knowing that she herself could never give them back what she had taken, she was going to do her best to try and make things right.

Since she came forward Yasuo, who had been claimed a traitor, was proven innocent. Riven admitted to the death of the Elder he was supposed to protect, but he was still not unpunished. Yasuo had abandoned his post and then later killed his brother, and was forced to help rebuild, knowing just how much the man had suffered. It was Yasuo's struggle that finalized Riven's thought that strength wasn't just physical, but that you could be strong in many different ways. After a year of thinking on the subject she came upon an answer; she was relying on Irelia, and so she departed one night on a pilgrimage to find herself. Two years passed, and Riven only confirmed what she knew. Irelia was a part of her, and it felt worse leaving Irelia than shattering her sword. They had met several times before the camp, but all interactions had been cut short by Riven as she tended to push Irelia away. She had become selfish, she wanted Irelia all to herself. So rather she refused to allow her to even have a part of her, a form of punishment for being selfish. Riven didn't understand the selfish need for the other woman, after all her common sense was combat and strength, not feelings and emotions. All Riven knew was that being with Irelia felt right, and now she wouldn't give it up for anything in the world.

The snap of reigns brought both women from their thoughts, a carriage had been brought around. Riven, now without the cloak, clambered into the carriage. She had to adjust her runic great sword multiple times before she felt it rested comfortably; Irelia joined moments later, after she had informed the guards about their new destination. According to the driver, the trip would take a minimum of eight hours. Riven and Irelia shifted to get comfortable, ending up on the same side. Irelia was the first to fall asleep, her head gently falling onto Riven's shoulder. Riven smiled and she soon fell asleep, her own head rested against Irelia's.

o-O-^-O-o

The carriage, for the league emissaries, came to a sudden halt just outside the barracks. Garen stepped forward to greet them, but was shoved aside as Kayle jumped out carrying the upper half of Wukong. She was shortly followed by Galio who hoisted Wukong over his shoulder. "Where's Soraka?" Kayle demanded, her tone was a sense of urgency laced with tiredness. She had spent the entire ride tending to Wukong's arm, and was only able to stand now with the last bit of energy she had left. Garen quickly ordered his men to help them to the infirmary. Wukong had lost consciousness about an hour ago, probably from a mix of shock and the adrenaline wearing off, so he was easier to carry. Soraka was just about to leave when Wukong was brought to her. It was obvious that his arm had began to get infected. Quickly she applied a salve, a magic boosting ointment that helped close wounds when magic was applied, and began her healing. After only moments, Soraka pulled out a razor and began to remove the hair along the remainder of his forearm, as it was getting into the wound and slowing the healing. She wasn't even sure he'd make it; the amount of blood he had lost was tremendous, a class four hemorrhage* and she had limited supply of plasma. Though a humanoid, Soraka was unsure if the plasma would work on the monkey. Her helper, a frail looking woman, attached the plasma to metal pole before inserting a small metal needle into Wukong's good arm. His arm was all Soraka was focused on, leaving the other patients to the infirmary's doctor.

Kayle had been given a bed to rest, and rest is what she got, not even bothering to remove most of her armor. Luckily, a few female guards helped remove it for her. Galio took post to guard the infirmary, fearful that things might end up like his former master. Janna needed rest as well, as she had used a lot of her energy channeling the wind. This left Zilean to explain things to Garen.

"What happened?" Garen tried, for the sixth time to get an answer he could understand.

"Temporal disruption via cloud. Not sure catalyst, but definitely man made. Likely Zuanite tech," Zilean mumbled to himself, still unaware of Garen due to his chronoldisplasia. "Institute of war reduced to rubble. Survivors unknown."

Garen couldn't believe what he was hearing. He wanted to pass it off as rabble of a mad man, but from the looks of the group things had to have been hell. Upon questioning Galio the answers remained the same. This was not something they could overlook. Garen went for the prince, in the war room. Luxanna, Katarina, Jarvan IV, Shyvanna, and other important dignitaries were present, and when Garen dropped the news on them the room remained silent. It remained that way for quiet some time as everyone began to think, but were to afraid to voice their thoughts.

"Get me an communication orb to Piltover, Bilgewater, Bandle City, Ionia, and the Freljord. We need to prepare for war," Jarvan spoke up, and everyone scrambled to get the orbs.

o-O-^-O-o

"How much longer for those ships~?" Swain asked, though he showed no frustration people cowered in fear of his words.

"We suspect there may have been sabotage. The damage they have sustained could take several months," Viktor spoke, his words came across as scripted, one setback from his robotic body.

"Ah~ Viktor. How long do you think it will take your _people_ to fix it?" Swain asked, emphasizing the word people. Viktor quickly did calculations in his _evolved_ brain.

"Just a little under a month if there are no further problems," he responded, almost seconds after Swain asked.

"Good~, I expect you will make modifications," Swain said, not really asking, but received a nod from Viktor anyways. Viktor made his exit, and was replaced by the cloaked figure. "Are things~ on your end going well~?"

"Yes," the metallic voice rung out from under the cloak. It sounded hollow, and those nearby couldn't help but shake at each move it made. It's piercing red eyes ate at your soul.

"Very well~, Mordekaiser~."

**A class four hemorrhage is losing 40% of your blood and without immediate medical attention will result in death soon. I will probably use these terms later: Class 1 = 15% generally no symptoms, Class 2 = 15 - 30% little symptoms besides disoriented, Class 3 = 30 - 40% leading to shock and rapid heart rate, generally will be pale and very confused. Class 4 is the next step up and most often leads to death if treatment is too slow.**


	5. Chapter 5

**It looked up the leaderships of each city-state and this is it; Demacia - Monarchy, Noxus - Military/Monarchical, Bandle City - Mayorship (Dennison Jadefellow), Bilgewater - Democracy? (What it seems like...), Freljord - Monarchy(Matriarchal)/Tribal (Depends on area but lore states that Ashe became queen and Tryndamere the King) also I will now be using techmaturagy**

**ALSO I sincerely apologize for the long wait but let me explain. So on Sunday my keyboard (The one that allowed me to write when I wasn't home) was stolen from my workplace (By a goddamn customer! I SEE YOU ON THE CAMERA YOU ASS!) and thus prevented me from writing then. To not be absolutely bored during that time I was reading a few Lara/Sam Tomb Raider Fanfics and stumbled upon a writer among writers... And thus reading all 350+k words of theirs took up more than my breaks at work. For anyone wondering Asynca is their name and writing is their game. (Oh god that was bad...)**

**Furthermore I have brought to life a account for those of you wanting to watch the boring task of me writing (Or playing LoL) also feel free to add me on league same username as here (For League and Twitch).**

"Everyone settle down," Jarvan III spoke, calling the group to attention. "I have contacted each one of you because of two things, _but_ these two things are not a matter we can overlook." By this time most had quieted down and put most, if not all, their attention onto the Demacian king. "Some of you may know, but I have been informed that the Institute of War has been destroyed-" he said, before being interrupted by a series of outcries. Jarvan III sat patiently while the people panicked. "_This_, however, does not mean there were no survivors. From our reports only five champions of the Institute were being housed there. All five are currently in our care, though one of them, Wukong, was injured. He is currently recuperating in our infirmary." he paused, allowing people to take in the information he had just given them. "We are unsure of the amount of casualties from the summoners of the Institute, we will offer any aid we can, and currently have some men on the way to offer the aid. I beseech that you do the same."

"I have some information about the status of the summoners," Karma spoke, her orb emitting a small blue glow as she spoke. "A small group of Ionian soldiers were at one of the refugee camps that many of the summoners have built. There are only sixty confirmed deaths, but almost fifty percent of the summoners are missing. They have either perished amongst the ruins, or have yet to report in to one of the larger camps. That same group should be arriving shortly in Demacia." Karma finished.

"Do you know who did it?" the Mayor of Bandle City, Dennis Jadefellow, spoke, getting murmurs from the other attendants.

"We have no solid evidence at this time, but we believe that the culprit is Zaun," Kayle said, stepping forward, "the techmaturgy used was haphazard and reckless."

"Just how exactly did they destroy the Institute?" spoke one of Piltover's officials.

"Temporal acceleration, similar to Kalamanda, where the temporal plane was frozen, except the reverse," Kayle responded. This set off a series of mumblings amongst the leaders of the groups and their officials. Once things calmed the questions were continued, and Kayle and a few others responded to the best of their knowledge. It took a considerable amount of time, and soon the tendrils of light fell behind the skyline, however; this did not stop the meeting.

"You said you had two things to talk about," spoke Ashe, pointing out that they had only been conversing on one of the two subjects.

"Ah yes," Jarvan III began, waving his hand towards a cloaked figure, "if you will please." Removing the hood revealed Katarina Du Couteau, getting a series of surprised gasps, but she ignored them.

"I'm sure you already know who I am so let's get on with it. The old Noxus has fallen and in it's place Jericho Swain stands," Katarina stated, then went on the explain her scenario. Many believed her, but few trusted her, not without good reason too. She had supported the pirates of Bilgewater, funded the techmaturgy in Zaun, worked hand in hand in _civilizing_ the north, and was the number one enemy of Demacia. Past grudges aside, the information Katarina was giving them shocked most of them. Ionia was the most worried, if Swain had led the charge into Ionia it would be nothing but a wasteland. It was in the middle of that point that Irelia arrived, bringing with her Riven. Irelia seemed unfazed by the news, but her blades told another story, anger ebbed out of the blades giving off a red glow. Riven was outraged, Swain was a coward who relied on the backing of cowardly techmaturgy. It was effective, but it was a path that would bring no honor. From then on the meeting turned downhill. The attempt to get a pact, or alliance, set up was shot down by all besides Ionia and Piltover. Poppy tried to persuade Mayor Jadefellow, but was turned down. Poppy sat there, quietly, wondering if they had just made a large mistake. Soon after the orbs were disconnected from the magic sources, and all others began to disperse. Katarina was _guided_ back to her room by several guards, and Luxanna, while other guards showed the other guests to their rooms.

o-O-^-O-o

"How are you feeling?" Luxanna asked, while she was not close to Wukong, she still knew him from a few small encounters in the league. He always asked to fight, but beneath that he truly seemed like a playful soul. Wukong did not answer, just stared at the ceiling, so Luxanna continued. "I can't say I know how it feels..." Luxanna spoke, mentally slapping herself for saying something so cold.

"-stronger" Wukong mumbled, Luxanna asked him to speak up, "I need to get stronger." Luxanna was shocked, he had just lost an arm and he was already planning to get stronger. "I will be the best after all," he said with a playful smile, till his vision caught sight of his arm.

"It's good to see you staying positive, even with everything that's happening," Luxanna said, trying to cheer him back up again.

"Yeah, you're right, it's just a handicap to give my enemies a chance," Wukong replied, the smile returning to his face. It was forced, and a little painful to watch, but still held an air of sincerity. Luxanna let out a small laugh before letting herself out. Wukong had always been strong willed and a little cocky, but he had almost died a few hours ago and was still just as reckless. It definitely wouldn't be easy, but Wukong never knew the words give up, and had no intention to learn them now. _'A handicap... I think I took it one step further than Jax,'_ he laughed to himself, and rested his head into the pillow, _'but now I need to get some rest.'_

o-O-^-O-o

"What should we do with _her_?" Garen asked, indicating Katarina.

"We could use her," Xin Zhao began, "she is an amazing assassin."

"But can we really trust her?" Shyvanna asked, beating Garen to it.

"They tried to kill her. Do you think she would remain loyal?" Florin Berell, a general for Demacia, spoke out.

"She is a Noxian! It could be a rouse!" Garen protested.

"So was Riven, but look at her now," Xin Zhao countered.

"The public will want an execution," Soraka began, "but I do believe that her ties to Noxus have been cut."

"How can you be so sure about it?" Garen continued his fight.

"Her wounds were deep, almost fatal. Furthermore, they would not sacrifice a renowned executioner like Draven," Soraka answered.

"It is still a possibility," Garen countered, "we have no proof it is or isn't a rouse, so we shouldn't take any unnecessary risks."

"But we should at least use her knowledge of Swain," Shyvanna pointed out.

"I already asked, she only knew the things we knew. He was first recorded with a terrifying leg wound, was promoted, brilliant strategist, and always has that creepy raven with him," Garen answered, quickly summarized. The earliest record of Swain was his injury. He hobbled into the medical tent, leaning on an old tree branch, with one of his leg bones sticking out of his flesh. He got the bone set, without even flinching when it was done, before refusing more medical attention and left the tent. His next appearance he was promoted. He had taken command, after he deemed his current leader unworthy, and led his comrades into battle to a surprising victory that had been thought to be lost. From then on any soldier that served under him, and survived the ordeal, showed great respect for the man, but never did the man show an ounce of emotion. Often described as cold and calculated, to the point people speculated if he was even human. Reportedly not even flinching when he was forcefully retired, and was turned away from the Ionian conflict. His supporters, on the other hand, were outraged. They were in shock that Noxus would toss aside the greatest strategist that had ever lived, in hopes that Singed could pick up where Swain left off. That was what the public knew, though the summoners that summoned him knew more. They however were forced into a confidentiality agreement, and were forced to not share the secrets they knew.

"We could put a _leash_ on her," Xin Zhao pointed out.

"A leash?" Garen asked, his cheeks gaining a slight reddish hue as he thought about it literally.

"Not literally," Shyvanna answered, "but find something that will prevent her from overstepping her boundaries. A leash keeps a dog back, so what keeps a Kat back?" They sat in silence for a few minutes before it was decided they needed to do more research. Just as quickly as they had met up, the group dissolved each heading their separate ways.

o-O-^-O-o

"Still not comfortable with me?" Katarina asked.

"Eh? Uh no... I was just trying to do... Uh," Luxanna began, spotting a large book next to her, "research." Holding up the book to make it a little more believable, but it was a painfully bad act that even a child could see through.

"Book of Sex," Katarina read aloud, instantly Luxanna looked at the book to be met by the same words in large scripted handwriting. In a flash she had dropped the book back on the desk, and began covering her reddening face with her hands."There is nothing to be embarrassed about, it's only sex," at the mention of the word again Luxanna turned a deeper shade of red. "Wait, you're a virgin..." Katarina asked, surprised.

"I'm only nineteen!" Luxanna cried out, surprising Katarina.

"Your nineteen? I thought you were like fifteen or something..." Katarina said, thinking it would cushion the blow, but ended up having the opposite effect.

"You thought I was a little kid? Why does everyone think that?" Luxanna asked, clearly upset that she was being mistaken for a fifteen year old.

"Got to be the breasts..." Katarina answered, in a serious tone as if she had thought about it before. Luxanna's eyes fell onto Katarina's chest, and while it wasn't large like Sona's, it was still quite larger than Luxanna's. Jealousy, along with a blush, crept onto her face, getting a laugh from Katarina. "Rather than stare would you like to touch?" joked Katarina, quickly Luxanna averted her eyes, preferring the much more interesting cobwebs in the corner. Again, Katarina laughed at Luxanna's attempt to be polite. "Whatever, I'm taking a nap. Also you have a little drool right here," She pointed to the corner of Luxanna's mouth. Luxanna furiously wiped at her mouth to find nothing of the sort. Angrily, she stomped off to her own bed and threw herself under the covers. By the time Luxanna peered out from under the covers, Katarina had passed out on her bed, allowing Luxanna to relax. She glanced back over at Katarina, her scar to be exact, and remembered hearing how she got it. She got greedy and went for the general, rather than the man she was supposed to assassinate, and returned to camp. Upon heading out the next day the Noxian soldiers were ambushed by Demacian soldiers, led by the very man she was assigned to kill. Angry at her own mistake she leapt in unleashing a torrent of daggers. She did not stop until the man had more holes than a target dummy. The thought ran shivers down Luxanna's spine. _'What's stopping her from doing the same to us?'_ Luxanna contemplated, shaking the thought from her head she rose to take a stroll.

o-O-^-O-o

"I can't believe Demacia of all places would ask _us_ for help. After they abandoned us to Noxus' _pacification_ of the Freljord!" Tryndamere called out, furiously.

"If they had tried to help then it would have only started another war," Ashe replied calmly, trying to calm Tryndamere's anger.

"I don't care! We lost many good men already, and now he wants us to send some more off to their death," Tryndamere began, before a chill settled onto his shoulder.

"You need to calm down," Ashe started speaking, leading him to a seat, "I am upset as well, but it would only make us look like savages if we refused to aid an ally. This way they will owe us."

"Wouldn't that make them the savages?" Tryndamere said, catching on to what Ashe was implying.

"I did not say that, but in a sense you are right," Ashe replied, as a guard entered the room through a enormous wooden door. The war room was large, easily larger than most theaters, and made of dark gray stone bricks that stretched higher than the light of the torches, which only cast flickers of light upon the dust caked rafters. In the center of the room sat a large table with a multitude of maps, flag markers, pins, and reports in no real order. Around the table sat several chairs made of wood and something akin to hide. One window, stained and decorated to the likeness of the rumored Queen Avarosa, that stretched to the top of the torch's light, and went down to about three feet off the ground.

"Miss Ashe," the servant called out, bowing her head in greeting, "we have a visitor. She claims to know you."

"Did you catch her name?" Ashe asked, the servant quickly scrambled out of the room and returned several moments later.

"A Miss Nidalee, Ma'am," she began, "she claims it is an emergency."

"Very well, Tryndamere, would you please return without me," Ashe said, slipping out of the room. Tryndamere left through another door, hidden behind a Freljordian banner, slightly baffled as to what the huntress would want.

Ashe made quick pace to the parlor, smaller than the war room but still of a considerable size, to find the scantly clad woman making herself comfortable in one of the large armchairs closer to the massive fireplace. The fireplace gave out an abnormal glow, thus drawing the most attention, but the rest of the room was meant to show extravagance. Large rugs made from all sorts of animals: bears, boars, wolves, and more. Large windows reveal a view of snow dotted trees and mountains, some of the finest masonry befell the floor, and even the furniture was the top quality. Ashe wanted to refuse such niceties, favoring a small house over a mansion, but Tryndamere insisted to live a life displaying their rank. To appease Tryndamere and his clan Ashe accepted, but for just the two of them the mansion seemed excessive and a waste of precious materials. With a final step down to the parlor Nidalee turned to Ashe.

"Hello~," Nidalee called out, her voice made no attempt to hide the sensuality it held. One could blame it on her primal nature, but Ashe knew it was just a ploy to get what she wanted.

"What do you want?" Ashe asked, trying to hide the anger.

"I hear there is some good caribou up here, and since I was in the area I thought I would drop by," Nidalee answered. Ashe was a renowned hunter, and in order to keep things that way she couldn't chance getting rusty. Plus she needed to let off some steam, after all being a queen was tough work, and everyone needed a way to vent.

"Let me get my bow," Ashe said, smiling for the first time that day.

o-O-^-O-o

"Something the matter Miss Crownguard?" one of the guards asked.

"Just tired, I think I will go back to my room for some sleep," Luxanna replied, leaving the library. She had spent the last two hours grazing over books on psychology, in hopes it would allow her to better understand Katarina, but had no luck in deciphering her. Her room wasn't far from the library, one of the things she liked, and before she knew it she was outside her door. Pushing it open, it revealed Katarina was still asleep, and with a sigh she crept over to her desk and began writing in her diary. As she neared the end a loud yawn escaped her mouth, deciding it was time for bed, though she had skipped dinner and instead snacked at the library. Though it felt like she was sleeping next to a bomb she drifted off to sleep rather quickly.

**Again sorry for the long wait for a short update! Like I said above my bluetooth keyboard was stolen and it has really crippled my writing time! Felt like I should get this out before one of you tracked me down and killed me though! Hope you enjoy and I promise there will be some action in the next chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6

**In case anyone asks the current artwork for the story is by Xano and is completely his property and not my own.**

**Thank you Shaw Fujikawa for watching my stream and telling me to keep writing, even when I wanted to get pwned on league. He promises to post a review after I post this chapter, so if he doesn't PM the shit out of him!**

**I think I have been jumping around to much and not giving the main characters their due respect so this is just to say that a majority of the chapters are now going to focus mainly on Kat and Lux. There WILL still be some hopping around, just not as much as before. Also I felt that the pot needed to be stirred in this chapter and put in a little bit of action **

**_(Warning: Injuries described could unsettle you if you are weak stomached and have an amazing imagination. Just thought I should put that out there in case anyone complains about it.)_**

"Do you always sleep in?" Katarina grumbled.

"Sleeping in? It's only seven!" Luxanna shot back.

"I've been up for two hours now, and I am hungry," Katarina continued, ignoring Luxanna's protest.

Fine!" Luxanna surrendered, heading towards the door. Slipping out, getting a nod of courtesy from the guards, she began towards the kitchen. "She drives me mad! I can't even study with her around!" Luxanna mumbled to herself. Nothing special happened on the trip to and from the kitchen, and she chose to head to the one quiet place she could go; the library. The only problem was that the library was so underused that the lights were dimmed greatly, leaving very little light to read with, and they forbid magic in the library preventing her from illuminating it herself. Normally she would bring the books back to her room, but with Katarina there it was impossible to get anything done. Grabbing an old oil lantern, she made her way to a recent section that had gotten her attention; magic of the old empires: Shurima Desert, Icathia, the tribes of the Plague Jungles, and even the old Avarosan Empire. Even getting Ezreal's help with the Shurima desert, but finding nothing new on how the magic worked. Both Malzahar and Kassadin were impossible to talk to, and even if you did the ramblings were incomprehensible, leaving Icathia a myth. The only remnants of Avarosa's empire were the capital, but much of the evidence had been reduced to myths and speculation, and the very bow Ashe wields, but she refused Luxanna's attempts to study the bow. As for the Plague Jungles, they were decimated by the rune wars, leaving little to no trace of the old inhabitants that died with it.

Hours went by as Luxanna scoured the books, finding interesting stories but no facts, and was beginning to lose hope when a small book caught her attention. It had been tucked sideways behind the other books, as if to hide it, she grabbed it and pulled it towards herself when the lantern flicked out. A little frightened at the sudden death of the light, she inspected the lantern to find it had run out of oil. It didn't help that it had become dark outside, she had missed lunch and dinner, making the library very dark. The ambiance of the library made the darkness even more frightening: the creaky wooden floors, the shelves that could hide something almost every five feet, the occasional gust of wind that knocked at the loose windows, and the flickers of dim light that danced in the corners of ones vision. An uneasy feeling fell over Luxanna, almost as if she was being watched, but she could see nothing that indicated such a thing to be true. Standing up, she slowly began to work her way through the library, stopping at almost every creak of the floorboards. Slowly, but surely, she made it to the exit. Sliding out of the library, she almost walked right into Vayne, giving her a miniature heart attack.

"You scared me!" Luxanna said, frustrated.

"You're in the way," Vayne pointed out, not even a drop of sympathy in her voice.

"Sorry," Luxanna said sliding out of the way, allowing Vayne to continue whatever it was she was doing. _'Why is she still here?'_ Luxanna asked herself, heading back to her room. Upon entering she found a very angry looking Katarina sitting on her bed, reading some book. "MY DIARY!" Luxanna cried out, running over to retrieve it. Completely forgetting about the book in her hands.

Katarina pulled the diary back, sliding it under herself before complaining, "Because of you I had to eat the stale bread and leftover soup that the guards gave me! While the guards ate my food!"

"Fine I'll go get you some food..." Luxanna didn't even protest, she was tired of Katarina's demands, but either way she would end up doing what the woman asked. Luxanna set the book down on her desk before heading out, giving the guards an angry look, blaming them for her current excursion. She decided, for petty retaliation, she would take her sweet time, and walked at a relaxed pace, until her own stomach growled. Surrendering she sped up, making it to the kitchen a little slower than normally. While the kitchen had been ready for late night snacks, they had not prepared for a late night meal, taking a few minutes over thirty to complete both plates. Making her way back was a little more tricky, as she tried to sneak a few bites while balancing the platter in one hand, but as she turned the corner she almost dropped the platter.

In front of her door were the two guards, lying in a puddle of their own blood and the door slightly ajar. Quickly she set the platter down, in case it would alert anyone to her presence, but what she feared most was that Katarina had taken this opportunity to escape. Hand on her baton, she pushed the door open, but she saw what she least expected. Inside Katarina was struggling against an unknown assailant, and based off the clothes, probably Noxian. They were whipping around looking for any opening in Katarina's defense, but the man had yet to see Luxanna. She readied her baton, compressing the light around her into a small sphere, and sent it flying at the man. Surprised he dove out of the way, barely escaping the burst that followed. Regaining his balance he charged at Luxanna, who quickly launched another thing of light that morphed into a prison on contact, preventing him from moving. Katarina, taking her queue, slammed her shoulder square in the middle of his back, sending him forward.

He managed to land on his feet, though slightly disoriented, and began to fight once again. He launched at Katarina this time, but just as he was about to get within striking range he dove backwards. Making a split second decision, Luxanna saw the object lying where he once stood and shot a ball of light from her baton. On hitting Katarina, it quickly wrapped around her and hardened, preventing the bomb from hurting her. It did not, however, stop the bomb from letting off a large quantity of smoke. In the confusion that the smoke left, he managed to slip behind Luxanna, dagger pressed to her throat. As the smoke cleared, the man began to spin around, searching for Katarina, and when he found her he let a smile quickly form on his face.

"If you want your friend here to live, then come with me back to Noxus!" he announced, victoriously. His cool demeanor was quickly stopped as an ink jar spun towards him, trying to dodge it he found another item, this time a dip pen, quickly approaching, somehow he managed to dodge both while keeping a hold on Luxanna. "Is that a-" he began before the final item hit it's mark. A book, Luxanna's diary, hit him right above his left eye. Releasing Luxanna, he brought his hand up to his face but was slammed into the ground as an armor clad figure dashed into the room. It was Garen, who was luckily nearby when he heard the racket, fearing that his sister might be in danger he came running. Taking a look at the man, who was now splayed out on the ground, it was obvious to tell he wasn't going to get up anytime soon: his arm flopped about, as if the bone in his arm had liquefied; blood dripped down into his eye, from where the book collided; and his leg was bent twice in the wrong direction, bone sticking out just below his knee. Quickly, Luxanna glanced away, not able to bear the seeing the mans condition. Katarina slowly walked over to him, plucking his daggers out of his hands and sliding them onto her belt. Garen made a move, but Katarina spoke.

"You know just as well as I that this is not the last of them, and I would much rather be able to protect myself instead of relying on others," and as much as Garen wanted to protest, he knew the truth. Katarina took his silence as a sign of agreement, and fell onto her bed. Garen, however, made his way over to his sister, checking her for any injuries before getting the rest of the guards. The man was dragged off, to god knows where, and five guards were placed outside the room. Both of them were moved into another room, while the room was _cleaned_, leaving Katarina and the light mage alone.

"Uh," Luxanna began, "I just wanted to, uh, say thanks. You know, for saving me..." Katarina looked up from her plate of food, which she had grabbed on the way out, Luxanna had lost her appetite and was just pushing the food around on the plate.

"If I had let you die they would of had my head for it, and if that were the case I might as well have gone with him then," she answered, not sounding the least bit boastful for what she had done. Still, Luxanna couldn't help but feel grateful to her.

"Still, thanks..." she mumbled, barely audible to Katarina.

"How about this, you don't seem to be eating that, so to make us even give me your food," she did as she was told and Katarina devoured the rest of both plates. It was by no means an even trade, something that she understood quite well, but it would have to do for now. She let herself fall backwards onto her temporary bed, it wasn't as soft as her old one, and began to ponder the days events.

"The book!" she cried out, about ready to hop out of bed when a sudden wave of sleepiness washed over her and with a yawn said, "I guess I can get it tomorrow..."

o-O-^-O-o

"So y'ar saying ya'll give me ten thousand klinks if I raid ta coast?" Gangplank asked, to a man who stayed in the shadows.

"Yes, and you get to keep anything you take," the figure said, their voice masked by some sort of magic.

"What's ta catch?" he asked suspiciously, for even being a pirate he knew it sounded too good to be true.

"No catch, only requirement is that you live, and you get your money," the voice stated.

"Sound easy enough, I accept y'ar deal," he agreed, accepting a small pouch of gold as an upfront payment.

"I'll see you when you've done what we asked," the man said, disappearing into the shadows. Gangplank made his way to his ship, the Dead Pool, docked in the furthermost part of the harbor. As he clambered up the walkway his crew began to quiet.

"A'right boys, we gots us a job!"

o-O-^-O-o

"We just received word from Ashe, sir!" a guard said, as Luxanna entered the dining hall.

"Can it wait?" he asked, signaling to his plate of food he had just grabbed. The guard shook his head and handed him a note, from her angle Luxanna was only able to see the prince's signature. She continued by, into the kitchen, to get the food that Katarina wanted. It was now a bit more unsettling now that she was armed, but it didn't seem she had a chance against her even when she was unarmed. The thought that her roommate, if she wanted to, could kill her any second, but instead chose to save her, it was all just so confusing to her. She hadn't realized she was in the kitchen, until one of the cooks waved a hand in front of her face, snapping her out of her thoughts. Embarrassed, she grabbed the platter and stepped out into the dining hall. Garen was gone now, and sitting in his place was Vayne, who was preoccupied by her thoughts. Luxanna slipped through the room, without much more than a few cursory glances in her direction by the other diners, and began the trek back to her temporary room. The group of five guards greeted her simultaneously, and she returned the courtesy before sliding into the room.

"Ah, I'm starving!" Katarina grabbed her plate and quickly began to eat, Luxanna following suit. It wasn't long for both plates to be cleared, and for each to do their individual things; Katarina her stretches and Luxanna investigating that strange book. An hour went by before the silence was broken.

"So, do you still like Sona?" Katarina threw out there. Luxanna, on the other hand, was horrified that anyone knew about that.

"W- W- What? H- How did you find out about that!?" she stammered out. Katarina's answer was to hold up another one of the light mage's diaries. "Uh, well, you see... It's a bit embarrassing, but I think I was just after her... for her body..." she finished, a bright red blush on her cheeks.

"Hold up, Seriously?" she about died when Luxanna nodded her head, "you're no better than some guys!"

"But not anymore, well, I mean she is really... pretty, but I don't think of her that way anymore!" Luxanna said, trying to clear things up.

"Have you gotten to the part where she thought she might of had a crush on Kayle?" Garen said, stepping into the room, resting his giant-gauntleted hand on his sister's shoulder. At the sudden contact, Luxanna jumped and spun around to meet her brother's chest guard, a horrified look painted on her face.

"I guess armor does have it's allure..." commented the red head. Luxanna was having a panic attack, yeah it was the past but it was still embarrassing for people to talk about it so casually.

"You don't have a problem with her orientation?" Garen asked surprised, as most who had found out had shied away.

"This isn't the rune wars, I've slept with a few women to get what I need," she answered, Garen blushing slightly at the idea before shaking the thoughts out of his head.

"Oh right, I came here to get both of you," Garen began, "the prince has something to speak with you both about."

o-O-^-O-o

"Ah good you are here," Jarvan IV called out as the doors opened enough to reveal the three walking in, "Sit, we have a lot to talk about."

"Are you really sure it is okay to do this?" the advisor, positioned just to the left of the prince, asked. A stern look told the man all he needed to know.

"Ashe has asked for some assistance, I am sending you two along with a small group of soldiers," He began to explain, "I believe this is a chance to prove your new allegiance, Katarina Du Couteau, but to be safe Miss Crownguard will be accompanying you."

"Huh? Wait what?" Luxanna stuttered out, completely taken aback.

"Ashe requested our help, I wish for you to assist her," Jarvan IV summarized.

"Y- Yes sir," Luxanna responded, knowing it would be unwise to decline.

"We agreed on-" Garen began, before Jarvan IV interrupted him.

"Yes, and you may send her with, but that is not all she is to do," he said, placating Garen. "You will be leaving tomorrow, so please go pack. I hope you two have a pleasant trip," he finished, standing up and making his way to the door before turning around and adding one last comment "Please stay safe, your parents would not take kindly to news of an injury or death." Katarina had been watching Luxanna's face for anything to mess with her about, but at the mention of her parents her face became somber. For once, Katarina left her alone, she knew what it was like to have parental problems. Her and her father were never very close, sure they spent a lot of time together, before he disappeared, but it was always to train or tell her what she did wrong. Her mom, now there was a tricky question starting with "Which one?" as her dad always had some new woman in and out of his bedroom. Talon had pretty much raised her, being closer to a father than anyone else, and as of now she missed the assassin greatly. Every search party looking for the rest of her party turned up empty handed, and she was slowly losing hope. Suddenly a hand fell on her arm, and she just about attacked out of instinct, but held it back.

"We need to head back, Katarina," Luxanna spoke, further drawing her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, you're right..." she answered half-heartedly.

"Are you alright?" Luxanna asked, curious to why she seemed so down.

"Eh? Oh yeah, just thinking," Katarina brushed it off, making her way for the door calling out behind her, "You coming?!" Luxanna couldn't help but wonder what thoughts had been troubling the woman, but soon followed after her, after all they had a lot of packing to do.

o-O-^-O-o

"I can't believe I'm back," Riven spoke, as she entered the building, "What has it been... two years?"

_'One year nine months and 12 days'_ Irelia repeated in her head. "Too long," she chose to answer instead, "You remember where your room is?" Riven nodded in answer, making her way down the familiar house. It was a simple Ionian house, white screen walls and wood supports dotted everywhere. Plants of all types placed around the rooms to add color to the bland rooms, simple as it was it was the only place Riven felt at home. Surprise dotted her face when she entered the room, everything had been kept the same, and the wasn't even a speck of dust anywhere. It was like she never left, and it wasn't because some maid cleaned the room, Irelia did the work herself, meaning she had personally cleaned the room to look as if it was occupied. With a smile, she tossed he bag into the closest, and flopped down on the bed. _'Just as uncomfortable as I like it,' _Riven reminisced, slowly drifting into unconsciousness.

"Riven!?" Irelia called, stepping into the room, "are you done..." but never finished as she spotted the sleeping figure. With a few steps she made it to the side of the bed, "Sleep well."

**There you go Chapter 6! I hope you enjoyed! Also for the next week I will not be writing chapter 7 but a christmas special (It will be posted with this and will not be chapter 7. It will be an AU of my two favorite couples Kat/Lux and Riven/Irelia! Also stop by my deviant art page! Kingsmexy! I will be posting an original christmas story there too (Though they may be a little late!). Also if you spot any mistakes tell me (I want to fix them!)! PM works best for those!**


	7. Chapter 7

**For some reason it was not showing up on the LoL page so I am reposting it again. Sorry for the inconvenience!**

**I need to make this clear THIS IS the seventh chapter as I posted the christmas special by itself. DO NOT SKIP! Also I have worked on Katarina's personality a bit so it will be a little different from now on and will hopefully reflect her real personality. I'm sorry for the wait and the short chapter as I just had been so busy recently. It is not going to get better either. I'll be starting up school on the 21st so I will be even more jam packed (Yay! (/sarcasm)) I will try to release a one shot Cait x Vi ff on my other LoL compilation (Check it out if you haven't yet.) Also, THANK YOU SHAW! I know this chapter was rushed and held a considerable amount of mistakes in it so your BETAing is greatly appreciated! Lastly, If you think I haven't been responding to your reviews or anything check your PM's as thats how I respond to them. Also feel free to PM me about any mistake you see or even a suggestion or two (I am always open to suggestions). Hope you enjoy!**

o-O-^-O-o

"I don't see how this could be much worse," Katarina spoke up, her breath easily visible in the cold air. "I'm stuck with this kid and freezing."

"I'm pretty sure there are far worse things than this," Luxanna pointed out. At least they were inside a carriage.

"No, even turning myself in to Swain would be better." She paused. "Actually, on second thought, you're right, that probably is worse than the cold." Luxanna giggled lightly.

Katarina groaned. "Kid, don't laugh; it just makes me want to remove your vocal chords."

"Will you two stop bickering?" Shyvana snapped from her seat at the front of the carriage. "Jarvan sent us on this mission, so you'd better behave! Plus, I was just about to fall asleep!"

The ride was quiet once again, not wanting to wake the sleeping half-dragon. They had been traveling for several hours now, leaving about two to three more to go, and everyone was at each other's throats. Katarina was hostile like always, Shyvana had no interest in most people besides the prince, and Luxanna was still uncomfortable around the assassin and half-dragon. It was clear this was not a group that would play well, no matter how much Luxanna tried to settle disputes.

"Hey kid, do something funny," Katarina spoke, not really demanding but not asking either.

"Um..." Luxanna wildly began to wave her arms about, which in of itself was quite funny. Shortly after her hands stopped, a small spectrum appeared before her not once but twice. Double rainbow, as some would call it.

The redhead's brows rose. "Hey, that's actually pretty cool!" she said, mildly amused by the spectacle.

"Well... a double rainbow is a phenomenon of-"

"Never mind, you ruined it." Katarina rested her head onto her palm, pinching some of her hair against her temple. Soon the only noise was the breathing of the three and the carriage as it made its way down the snow blanketed road. It wasn't long before the breaths of the three began to deepen, as they impatiently waited for the coming stop at the capital city of the Freljord, Rakelstake. While the troops that joined them would be resting at the barracks, located within the city, the three would still have a two hour hike to Ashe's home up in a small mountain area where the carriage just could not make it. It wasn't long before the last of the three slipped into unconsciousness.

o-O-^-O-o

"I can see it!" Luxanna cried out. Off in the distance, masked by the dozens upon dozens of snowflakes cascading down upon them, was a building.

"Are you sure?" Katarina questioned. "You've said that the last three times now and you were wrong each time."

"Positive!" she affirmed, hastening her steps.

"You said that the last three times too!" Katarina said, exasperated, increasing her own speed to keep up.

Sure enough, there it was, a tall weathered stone and wood mansion, the smoke rising from the chimney as if beckoning them in.

"Oh," a voice purred from behind them, "you're finally here."

Katarina spun about, arms dropping to her waist for her weapons. When they met only thin air and she finally recognized Nidalee slyly twirling two familiar blades in her hands, her face twisted into a snarl. "Give them back! Or I'll-"

"Or you'll do what, Miss Du Couteau?" another voice spoke. Katarina rotated about her heels a second time to meet a blue eyed woman grinning at her from her place leaning against the stone of the mansion's entranceway. "It is a pleasure to have you as my guests," Ashe continued. "Please, do come in.

'Goddamn cat,' were the thoughts ringing through Katarina's mind as Nidalee, now done with her teasing, returned the blades and bounded past them after the frost archer. The others following suit, but not as energetic as the cougar. Upon entering, the group all but collapsed in front of the grand fireplace in the parlor, but Ashe continued to lead the three onwards. The three lingered as long as they could in the warmth without being too impolite. It turns out that their stalling was unnecessary, as when they entered the main dining hall they were greeted by an even larger fireplace adorned along the far wall of the room. It was grand, to say the least, with its mile high ceiling, lavish decorations of gold and silver, and the large oak table that seemed to stretch on forever.

"Please do make yourself comfortable, I am sure all of you are hungry and the food is almost ready," Ashe spoke up, breaking the group's focus on the room.

"Good," Nidalee barked, "I'm starving." She emphasized her hunger by sauntering up to the table and dropping unceremoniously into a seat as if she owned the place. Luxanna politely waited until Ashe had seated herself at the head of the table before joining them, but Katarina was still looking around with what appeared to be a look of confusion dancing across her face as her eyes fell from one item to another.

"Is something the matter, Miss Du Couteau?" Ashe spoke up.

"It's nothing!" Katarina snapped, drawing more attention to her.

"If you-" The archer halted as a man stepped out from what was probably the kitchen entrance. "Never mind. It appears the food is done, would you please take your seats?" Katarina nodded, taking the seat beside Luxanna.

"Is something wrong?" Luxanna asked, not really expecting an answer but doing so anyway out of courtesy.

"It just seems so wrong," she murmured idly. "Where are the skulls, the barbarous fighters, and the fighting? Aren't people from the Freljord supposed to be barbarians?"

Ashe gave her a sharp look. "I apologize for overhearing, but I can reassure that you will find none of that within the Avarosan's borders; however, the other factions are not all so civil. Hopefully, we will be meeting with the Winter's Claw leader, Sejuani, in the coming days, also I have been unable to get word to Princess Lissandra, so we will not be meeting with her yet."

As a handful of servants began to pour out of the kitchens with trays of food: boar, deer, bread, lettuce and spinach salads, and other greens and vegetables, Ashe changed tune. "But dinner is not a place for politics, so I hope you enjoy this for now."

"This is quite the spread," Luxanna began, gazing in awe at the selection of different foods. "I didn't know you could grow some of these plants here."

"It was a bit of a challenge at first, but we have an effective system now," Ashe answered. "But please, eat away.

"Nidalee had already started helping herself before she'd even finished asking, tearing into a large slab of boar that she had slipped onto her plate with her bare hands. Everything about the woman was primal from the way she dressed to the way she ate. Katarina, despite being equally hungry, ate with more dignity, using the silverware provided, albeit stabbing and cutting the meat somewhat more aggressively that she probably needed to. Luxanna merely settled for demurely eating away using her cutlery as she usually did. Ashe had all of her cutlery lain out perfectly and used each one for its use and it's use alone. She was the definition of etiquette. Shyvana being a representative of Demacia, and thus Jarvan IV, ate in a manor similar to the frost archer's though not as particular about the specifics of the silverware's proper uses.

Dinner went by without too much talking, and they were led to their rooms. Katarina and Luxanna, again, sharing a room as per the orders of their prince. Shyvana took the room next to theirs, claiming to have wanted one further away but needing to make sure Luxanna would be alright, lest Jarvan be upset.

Ashe remained standing where she was as both parties made to shut their doors for the night. "If you need anything just ring the bell outside your door and someone will come to help you. Please enjoy your stay." And with that, she bid the group farewell and made her way out, tailed by certain huntress.

In spite of the fact that Katarina and Luxanna had to actually share a bed for the night due to the unexpected insistence that they remain in the same room, they were so tired that neither women could care enough to complain about it. It didn't take long for the three to get settled into their rooms, and the combination of the long trip and the hearty meal soon had them all slipping into unconsciousness.

o-O-^-O-o

'Warm…' was Luxanna's first thought as she drifted back into the waking world. It wasn't until the young woman gradually began to wake that she discovered the source of the warmth; a certain redheaded assassin currently snugly holding her in a sleepy grip. She had even snuggled up into her shoulder similar to how a toddler might do with a large teddy bear. It was actually the first time Luxanna had truly seen Katarina's face displaying anything other than a dark scowl or sly smile, and she mildly admitted that it looked rather cute. By day a hardened assassin and by night a defenseless girl, though she was probably only in her early twenties. A slight giggle escaped Luxanna's lips as the thought crossed her mind, and while it did not make much noise the sudden movement startled the redhead awake. As she pulled away, the warmth quickly faded with it, leaving a feeling of disappointment in both women's minds when the cold wind slipped its fingers between them.

Katarina's face returned to her usual stoic expression. "Kid, don't you dare tell anyone what you saw," she growled, although Luxanna wasn't going to tell anyone anyways. After all, who would believe the preposterous story of Katarina, a Noxian assassin, cuddling up to a Demacian noble as if she was a children's toy?

A brisk knock interrupted both their thoughts. "You'd better hurry if you want breakfast, or I'll eat your share," Nidalee purred through the door.

o-O-^-O-o

Getting ready took longer than necessary as Luxanna had to look her best; by contrast, Katarina just threw on some clothes prepared for her. She didn't especially like them, either and she made sure her discomfort was as obvious as inconveniently possible. "How do you move in this? It's so constricting, no freedom to move! I wish I had my armor..."

"There is no point in wearing your armor all the time, it can't be sanitary," Luxanna answered.

"Of course I had more than one set, kid," Katarina shot back. She fidgeted uncomfortably. "And your stuff is really tight around my boobs, I have to add."

It was indeed. Luxanna was finding many of her favorite clothes stretched particularly around Katarina's waist and upper torso… and it certainly wasn't because Luxanna wore smaller sized clothing. The Demacian's face went red with a vivacious mix of annoyance and embarrassment. "It's not my fault you're… you're…"

"Curvier than you?" she finished smugly. As Luxanna's face went even redder, she laughed. "Just so you know, my offer to let you touch still stands."

The girl blew out an irritated huff. "Fine. When we're going home we can stop at Piltover and get you some actual clothes and you can stop ruining all of mine," Luxanna answered, having to toss aside an overly stretched shirt. Finally finished, both women made their way to the dining hall. It wasn't difficult as they just had to follow the smells and before they knew a sizable breakfast feast was in front of them. In almost the same amount of time it took for the feast to appear the food was devoured and Ashe cleared her throat and began to speak.

"Today we'll be taking a short walk about three miles east of here, the weather isn't too bad for hiking." It was a pretty mild overstatement, as the snow was still pounding down outside the windows. "So we should be fine with minimal supplies."

"Just what is out here? If you don't mind me asking," Luxanna responded, cutting off Katarina who was ready to say something less than civil.

"It is the reason why I asked for your help, as for what it is, it's easier to show you," was all Ashe answered before dismissing herself.

Katarina snorted. "Easier my-"

"We should get ready! I brought quite a variety of jackets. Even one you might like," Luxanna spoke up, prompting a curious glance from the assassin. After analyzing the deep scarlet garment after it was handed to her, she had to agree. It was not as warm as most of the other jackets but a thin layer of what looked like a type of foil that held out the cold and kept the warmth in. It was simple and allowed for fluid movement. Overall it was a perfect fit for Katarina. Luxanna's was bulkier. It was a simple light blue color design from the outside. Inside it was filled with so many insulating materials it could keep someone warm during the thickest of storms. The outside was waterproofed using a certain combination of techmaturgy and magic and it even came with matching gloves. Katarina just scoffed, Luxanna looked like a blueberry. In the end she traded it out with a more reasonable jacket. It was still insulated but it only claimed protection to negative twenty degrees rather than negative fifty, but all in all it would work. Now prepared, even against Luxanna's protests of it still being cold, they set off.

Considering they were walking through a frozen wasteland, the three hour trek to spot was quite easy; however, to those unused to the weather the trek was brutal and murderous. It contained dunes of snow not tightly compacted, that if walked on would swallow you up; a frozen lake, god forbid if you fell in and froze in a matter of seconds, and all sorts of creatures desperately trying to find any scrap of food, not caring if it is an otter or you. Thankfully, Ashe had already planned out a _safe _route for them to use, for while it did not contain any hidden falls or ice one could not always predict the behavior of animals. The most fearsome creature they crossed paths with was a rabbit, which quickly hunted and bagged for later. The newcomers were not faring as well as the frost archer and huntress.

Luxanna had to plead over-dramatically multiple times for them to "save themselves" as she lay floundering in the snow only to have Katarina irritably drag her a couple hundred feet and have the girl, thoroughly embarrassed, get up and continue on her own feet in silence. Shyvana had it the easiest of the three as being a half-dragon had its benefits and fire was most definitely one of them. Ashe and Nidalee still had to constantly stop and wait for the stragglers to catch up before continuing. Finally they arrived at the start of a Boreal forest, or a tundra forest, when Ashe stopped the group.

"We're here," Ashe began. "Stick with me, as it's really easy to get lost once we enter the thicker part of the woods." Nidalee took up the rear of the group while Ashe led the way

Thick branches and pine needles let little light in and, mixed in with the various creatures running from bush to bush, left most of the group on frayed nerves. Even Ashe was tense with her bow out and arrow notched ready to release it into anything that dared exit the bushes. The light that escaped the area about two hundred feet in front of them kept them going, though the trees blocked a majority of the light the few glimpses that they were allowed taunted them, although Ashe kept her pace steady nonetheless.

It wasn't until they got within a hundred feet did they smell it. A mixture of rotting and burning flesh clung to the air that they gulped down, only to gag it back out. They were no stranger to death, but none had been there to clean up afterwards. The putrid air only thickened as they struggled closer to the clearing. Nidalee, though having a sensitive nose, was more used to the smell, but the disgust was still obviously visible in her eyes. Ashe showed no emotion or signs of being affected by the stench. The reason became apparent as soon as they made it to the edges of the clearing. Bodies lay scatted left and right and from the look of things they were trolls, though some were too badly charred that it became impossible to really tell what they were.

In particular, their startled eyes fell upon a red-haired troll with a massive hole where his heart would have been, burnt straight through his chest, and still clutching a giant club of raw ice even in death. While Trundle had been a friend to none, the others couldn't help but feel some mild, peculiarly misplaced sympathy for the troll to have gone out in such a grisly manner. Princess Lissandra would not be fond of the news that the trolls with which she had established peaceful relations with had been murdered.

A small glint of light caught Katarina's attention and she made her way forward. Just lightly buried beneath a layer of snow was a small broken canister. On the sides were four broken vials that stunk of acid. There was only one person who fancied such a cruel weapon and that Katarina knew.

"Urgot..."


End file.
